All According to the Original Plan
by BearTamer
Summary: Despite being a better target, Blackbeard decides to keep his plan to bring Luffy in, instead of Ace. Will Ace and the Straw Hats be able to save Luffy from Impel Down and figure out what game Blackbeard is playing? An AU where Blackbeard keeps to his original plan and kidnaps Luffy in order to gain the Warlord seat.
1. Prologue

**A/N: Let it be known that I don't claim to have any idea what I am doing. Also I don't own One Piece**

 **According to the Original Plan**

 **Prologue**

Ace had two emotions warring inside him at the moment, anger and confusion. His anger stemmed from the simple fact that Blackbeard, an enemy that he had been chasing for months had declared quite boldly and proudly in front of him that he was going after one Straw hatted pirate named Monkey D. Luffy. His confusion? Well that came from the fact that he, "Fire Fist Ace" a much better prize in terms of both bounty and reputation had been left by the bastard lying in the middle of the destroyed town on Banaro Island.

"Why the hell is that bastard after Luffy?" Ace muttered to himself, pushing Striker, his small Logia-powered boat harder with a concentrated burst of flames. The small boat responded violently skipping across the ocean surface with great leaps and bounds, but Ace's legs held steady keeping perfect balance.

After he had awoken in the town the first thing that Ace had noticed was the feeling one gets when a great weight has been lifted off of them, relief and phantom inklings of a great and crushing pain. The second thing he noticed was the feeling of a newspaper draped carelessly across his face fluttering like a distressed butterfly that couldn't quite get its bearings. Ace sat up quickly, regretting the decision immediately as another wave of pain ran through his body, shuddering he took the newspaper that fell haphazardly in his lap and glanced at the headlining article:

 _Straw-hat Pirates Responsible for Destruction of Enies Lobby_

Ace couldn't help the wide grin that spread across his face as he skimmed the article, "way to go Luffy." Feeling a bit less lightheaded he ventured standing, and found to his great delight that he could without falling over. Ace brushed off the debris from his shorts and readjusted his hat which had become horribly disheveled during his battle with… BLACKBEARD!

Where had that bastard gone?

Instantly Ace became alert, grey eyes shifting with distrust toward every shadowy alleyway and demolished building. However his sharp observational haki couldn't pick up anyone, not a civilian, not a marine and certainly not a no-good, dirty, ROTTEN PIECE Of…

Focus, Ace focus, he thought to himself inhaling deeply. He immediately started easing the tension in his shoulders, the bright orange flames which had shot to life earlier dulled to a low simmer and eventually ceased altogether. He had to stay calm; he tended to do stupid things when he was angry.

At least that's what several of his fellow commanders and nearly his entire division told him when he said he was going after Blackbeard.

"If you go after him in this state you'll get yourself killed."

"Teach surprised all of us, who knows how strong he really is."

"Ace, calm down yoi. You are in no state to go after Teach."

"Son, please do not give into the anger inside you. Going after Teach is a bad idea."

Ace shook his head at the thoughts. He wasn't angry at Teach; he felt righteous indignation and was merely going to act on it. Ace had felt no desire to kill the man (well maybe that wasn't quite true), but he wasn't that selfish. He knew that everyone on the _Moby Dick_ had reason to want Teach dead, especially members of the second and fourth divisions, as well as the commanders, but especially Pops.

When it was revealed to him by a frantic member of the fourth division that Thatch was lying face down dead in a pool of blood in his room and that the Dark Dark fruit was missing, Whitebeard was shook to his core. It always grieved him whenever one of his children were hurt or killed in battle; such was the life of a pirate. Though it was very rare for any of his children to die under his care, there are just things that out of his control, even if he was the strongest man on earth.

Several hours later, after much investigation, it was revealed that Marshall D. Teach was the only man missing from the whole ship. It didn't take long to put two and two together. Whitebeard's face after learning that it wasn't an enemy that had snuck aboard the ship that killed his son but another one of his children that did the deed was filled with great sadness and utter betrayal, it was there briefly, but it was enough for Ace who had to deliver the news to his captain, to his father.

He wanted to bring Teach (or Blackbeard as he was now calling himself) in so that Whitebeard could deal with the bastard. Ace would not take that opportunity from him, but then Teach had threatened Luffy.

When Blackbeard did that, Ace decided that he no longer cared whether his fight with him would end up with the bastard dead or not. No one threatened Luffy.

But even with that resolve, it had not been enough. Ace was still defeated by Blackbeard, which he may have been fine with if Blackbeard had taken him into the marines, but he didn't, he left him in town very much alive and in fairly good fighting condition judging by his lack of broken bones. The calming breeze blowing through the apocalyptic town had a deceptively calming effect on Ace as he started to think, then it hit him.

Blackbeard was playing a game. A sick, twisted, confusing as hell game, but a game none the less. Ace immediately started running, jumping onto Striker which was thankfully still at the port and started heading toward Water 7.

Which was how he ended up here, skipping on the ocean surface of his skimmer, nearly colliding into a giant ship with a lion-shaped head mast, wait what? Quickly shifting his body weight Ace steered Striker sharply to the right, narrowly avoiding slamming into the bow.

Looking up, his face changed from one of rage from being nearly run over, to one of relief and joy. "Looks like you got yourself a new ship Luffy." Ace spoke to himself, "and it's a damn nice one to boot."

The ship was bright and colorful, with a warm and inviting feel to it. The familiar jolly roger of a straw-hatted skull and crossbones fluttered gently in the breeze displayed prominently and proudly high on the mast of the ship, the massive sail sporting the same design.

Grinning wickedly, he just couldn't help himself, he yelled out, "Gee that was some great navigational work." His voice dripped with sarcastic delight, "If I was any slower you would have succeeded in hitting me."

A familiar flash of orange hair leaned over the side of the boat screaming vehemently in his direction. "Who do you think you are, telling me I can't navigate? I ought to charge you 50 million belis for… for… Ace?"

"The one and only, how's it going Nami?"

The flash of orange hair disappeared and then promptly returned with several familiar faces and a couple of new ones. Ace smiled warmly at seeing Luffy's crew, but dropped to a straight line when he noticed that a certain captain was missing. Where was Luffy? Before he could ask his thoughts were interrupted by a green-haired swordsman with sharp eyes.

"Hey Ace, why don't you come on up?" Zoro offered jerking his thumb toward a blue-haired cyborg. "Franky here can dock your boat in the back."

Nodding slowly, shaking away any dark thoughts, Ace headed toward the stern of the boat where a dock with a large number 6 painted on the side began to slowly lift up; lowering his sail Ace slowly maneuvered Striker into the opening. It was a perfect fit. The dock door closed leaving him in complete darkness, but this only lasted a brief moment as a door swung open revealing what Ace assumed to be his brother's new crew member.

"Portgas D. Ace," he offered his hand and cordial smile. "Nice to meet you."

The assumed crewmember grinned widely "Cyborg Franky," he returned shaking Ace's hand. "Follow me to the deck."

Wanting to learn more about this new crew member, Ace decided to comment on the new ship, "this is a very nice ship."

"You think so?" The man asked turning toward Ace.

Ace nodded. "Yeah, I've been noticing the little nuances of the ship and I can tell that a lot of love and detailed attention went into making her. Like the texture of the wood," he said running his fingers along the grooved walls. "The craftsman ship and design is lovely and… and… are you okay?"

Franky had tears welling up in his eyes. "Ace-bro you are SUPER making me love you." Ace was swept up in a hug by the cyborg. "I built this ship myself (with some help from Iceberg, but Luffy's bro didn't need to know that), I call her the Going Sunny."

"Alright, alright," Ace chuckled, "could you put me down?" Franky nodded and the two headed toward the deck in companionable silence merely enjoying the company of each other and the ship; seems like Luffy got himself a good shipwright, and knowing his little brother's destructive tendencies that was prayer answered for his crew.

As the cool light of glowing lamps turned to the harsh brightness of the afternoon sun on the deck, Ace was immediately assaulted by something small brown and furry. "Oof, hello Chopper," he greeted the little reindeer.

"Ace," the little reindeer was trying to hold back tears. "Luffy was… Luffy is…"

Ace looked up sharply, "what happened to Luffy?" He demanded. The atmosphere on the deck contrasted with the bright and cheerful optimism that radiated from the ship. Everyone looked slightly down and shameful. Ace took a deep asking again, "Where is my little brother?"

It was Sanji who spoke first. Taking a drag of his cigarette he spoke, "We believe Luffy was taken." Ace felt his stomach sink, no.

"We tried looking for him all over Water 7, but…" It was Nami who continued the train of thought, "we couldn't find him anywhere."

"Then we found Usopp…" Zoro started in, "who told us that Luffy was defeated in the middle of the night by this man. Show him Usopp."

Ace felt his hands trembling. It took every ounce of willpower not to burn the paper with the sketch of the very familiar face on it, which the sharpshooter had hesitatingly handed him. The crooked nose, the yellowing teeth, the large body, and the look of a psychotic devil in the eyes were alarmingly familiar.

Blackbeard.


	2. Chapter 1: Before Darkness Falls

**A/N: For some reason people are reading this, and liking this. I have no idea why. I still don't own One Piece, but I do own a one piece… Let's just get on with the story.**

 **All According to the Original Plan**

 **Chapter 1: Before Darkness Falls**

Five Days Earlier…

Finished with his check-up of his very reckless and supremely lucky captain, Chopper removed the stethoscope from his ears and let out a sigh, "you don't know how lucky you are Luffy." His captain gave him a curious look as Chopper continued, "Based on the injuries that you sustained from your fight with Lucci you should be dead. Any other man would be dead, so as your doctor I am begging you please don't do anything strenuous for at least three days." A small smile spread across his face, "I should force you to stay in bed, but we all know that won't happen."

Luffy let a wide smile split his face and laughed loudly holding his stomach where Chopper had just finished a series of complex stitching. "Stop That!" Chopper scolded, "You'll pull your stitches." This caused Luffy to laugh louder and the rest of the rest of the crew to grin at their captain's antics, that was until he managed to pull a stitching. The laughter stopped as Luffy slowly registered the pain that flowed through his stomach, and let out a small panicked yell. Chopper merely sighted sticking him with a small dose of anesthetic and starting to redo the stitching. Chopper huffed, "honestly Luffy, what would you do without me?"

"Probably die," Robin chuckled lightly. "You're very important to all of us Dr. Chopper."

Nami grimaced slightly before looking to Robin. "That was very sweet of you Robin, but why did you have to start it off with such a grim statement."

Chopper on the other hand was blushing focusing more on Robin's praise of him. "Shut up! How dare you call me doctor!" He then stopped dancing and looked at Luffy whose eyes were starting to droop due to the effects of the anesthesia, "besides I need to redo his stitches stronger so he doesn't pull them out. Hopefully the drug will last long enough to do my work."

Robin and the rest of the crew nodded in understanding. "Then we shall get out of your fur and let you do your work," she spoke, and with that the crew walked out leaving the good doctor alone with his patient.

* * *

Usopp walked up and down the street right outside the hotel that the rest of his former crewmates were staying at. He knew that he was being stupid leaving the crew and fighting Luffy, helping save Robin from Enies Lobby showed him that the crew needed him and that they should be glad to have him make a triumphant return, of course he wouldn't make a big deal out of his return.

He would simply stroll into the room and act as though he never left. Why when Luffy would cry tears of happiness at his return Usopp would merely say, "I never left; there is no need to get so emotional." Board the boat that several hours earlier he overheard Franky say that he was building for the Straw Hats and continue on their journey.

After all, what was one fight between friends? Sure it had been over Merry which had been very important to him and they did leave on bad terms, but Usopp understood that as captain Luffy had to make hard decisions and maybe it wasn't entirely his fault, Usopp was a forgiving individual that could do just that for his best friend whether he apologized or not.

Usopp was brought out of his musings by a familiar voice, "So, how long do you think that idiot captain of ours is going to last before he does something strenuous and undoes all of Chopper's hard work?" That was Sanji.

Usopp dove into a nearby alleyway where he shushed a stray dog that started growling at him. He heard Zoro snorting, "Knowing him probably won't last until the end of the day."

Robin then spoke up, "Well I believe that he will last the whole three days."

Nami immediately looked up a catlike grin forming on her face. "If you want to make a bet I could loan you some money, of course interest will be charged at…"

"NOT INTERSTED!" The entire crew yelled. Even Sanji who adored Nami knew how she could be when it came to her and her treasure.

Usopp continued to watch the crew as they continued in dull conversation about what they were going to do with their time. He heard how Zoro was going to look for a new sword to replace the one that was destroyed. Sanji was thinking of going to the restaurant district due to rumors he had heard about there being a delicious spice that could only be found in Water 7 by another patron of the hotel. Robin and Nami decided to head to the City's massive library for books on temples of the Grand Line and underwater currents respectively.

Usopp smiled at the crew, they were so comfortable with each other, without him there… he shook his head from negative thoughts and looked down at the dog that had since stopped growling at him and was sniffing his knapsack curiously. Usopp removed his bag from his shoulder and knelt down, opening the bag he pulled out a bit of hardtack and handed it to the dog, which sniffed it and took a small nip at the biscuit. Usopp smiled at the dog, "and here I thought you were hungry." The dog seemed to gain more confidence opening its mouth wider biting down on the whole biscuit nearly taking Usopp's fingers with him. Growing bold the dog then began to nose its way into Usopp's bag that was left of the floor.

Usopp quickly snatched up the bag "Ah, we can't have you eating my ammo." The dog barked sharply in reply. Usopp flinched at the dog's change in personality "H-hey, stop that!" he commanded with his voice shaking. To his surprise the dog sat down and looked at him with a patient expression that begged "give me more food." Usopp felt himself sweating, this dog was starting to remind him of Luffy, he even looked like his captain with wide brown eyes and a dark brown shaggy coat that was stating to thin on the animals backside due to poor nutrition.

Usopp felt a new plan forming in his head, Luffy did love animals. He slung his bag over his shoulders and beckoned the dog to follow him "Come on fellow lets you and me get something to eat." The dog barked in reply and followed Usopp out of the alley and toward the shopping district.

* * *

Two Days Later…

"I can't believe how calm Luffy is being," Nami muttered in a low tone to Robin. Said captain was speaking to Sanji in an animated tone that much more subdued than his usual self. "At this rate I'm beginning to think that you regret taking me up on my offer which by the way still stands," a smile crossing her face.

Robin grinned in return, "I believe it has something to do with the cook informing captain quite vehemently that if he messed up Chopper's hard work he would make him eat vegetarian for a whole month." The smile dropped from her face, "I'm still not borrowing money from you."

Nami pouted slightly before continuing the amusing conversation. "Yeah, remember Luffy's face when Sanji explained to him what a vegetarian was. I think Sanji was closer to killing him with that than Rob Lucci was." Nami immediately froze and looked to Robin whose face had become somber, "I'm sorry Robin, I shouldn't have brought up unpleasant memories for you."

Much to her surprise a small smile spread across Robin's face. "Don't worry about it, the past is past and even though it's recent it doesn't bother me as much as you would think." Nami nodded in understanding before both she and Robin looked toward the arguing duo that was Sanji and Luffy.

"I'm telling you Sanji, it's a good idea." Luffy moaned in protest.

However Sanji was not taking any of Luffy's crap, even if he was the captain, he was the cook and knew a stupid idea when it came to food. He was all for experimentation but really chocolate covered fried tilapia with a pickle and peanut sauce. Where did he even come up with the idea? Sanji listened half-heartedly as Luffy began waving his arms up and down as he began explaining how when he was a kid he ate it off of a dare from his older brother Ace and ended up enjoying the taste.

"Just make him the dish you crappy cook. It sounds disgusting enough to be right up your alley," Zoro muttered.

"What was that? I believe the moss on your head is beginning to infect your brain," Sanji responded swinging a kick at Zoro's head which was blocked by one of his swords. Despite not liking Zoro very much he was actually somewhat grateful to have someone to vent his frustrations on. They all promised to take it easy on Luffy until his three days of healing were up, and much to their chargrin the captain seemed to understand this and was annoying the rest of the crew to his best ability.

Zoro smirked in return, also happy to have someone to vent his frustrations with, yesterday when looking at swords in the workshop of a famous blacksmith named Piandao, Luffy had unwittingly insulted the man by saying that his Gum Gum Hammer attack could forge better weapons and had gotten Zoro banned for life from the shop, which was a damned shame. The blacksmith had some nice swords, but perhaps it wasn't meant to be. Honestly Luffy could be a real idiot sometimes and needed to learn to keep his mouth shut.

As the swordsman and cook continued to trade blows, Nami sighed shaking her head. "Can't you two stop fighting for five minutes, besides Sanji I'm starting to get hungry," she finished with a coy smile.

"Ah, of course my dear Nami, what does your heart desire this fine evening?"

It was Robin who spoke, "Why not make that dish that Luffy was talking about? It sounds interesting."

"Of course, my lovely Robin, truly a woman of your class has the taste buds of an angel." Sanji swooned, dancing away to the kitchen.

Nami gave Robin an incredulous look. "Robin, why would you ask him to make such a disgusting thing?" Robin merely smiled and nodded her head toward Luffy who was looking at them with a look of absolute joy. "I see," Nami responded. "Robin you have the strangest ways of saying thank you."

"Sometimes it's the simple things that make us happiest."

That evening the crew had the strange dish of chocolate covered tilapia with a pickle and peanut sauce. Surprisingly enough it wasn't as bad as everyone thought it would be. Unsurprisingly Luffy wound up eating most of everyone's share.

* * *

Iceberg wiped sweat from his brow looking up at the sky. "It's starting to get dark," he muttered.

Franky snorted. "It's too early to start getting dark. Besides I want to finish this as soon as possible, we've got lamplight it should be enough." A grin crossed his face. "Ice, are you getting tired? Has the life of being the mayor of Water 7 dulled your skills as a shipwright?"

Iceberg merely hummed at Franky's teasing, and continued working. However as the sky grew darker and darker into a pitch black, mere minutes after their conversation, a heaviness fell across the place and they all fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 2: How to Steal a Captain

**A/N: So sorry this chapter took so long to get out. I had a severe case of laziness and rewriting syndrome. Heck I'm still not fully satisfied with how this chapter turned out, but I wanted to get it out to you guys. You may notice in this chapter that I took some liberties with Blackbeard's power, but it's my story I'll write it my way.**

 **All According to the Original Plan**

 **Chapter 2: How to Steal a Captain from their Deer Friend**

"Stupid Iceberg," Franky muttered to no one particular kicking an empty can down the abandoned street. "Who does he think he is?"

After only about ten minutes of working after the man declared that it was getting dark, he proclaimed that they needed to stop working because there were dangerous working conditions. When Franky pointed out that he could do it himself as he had night vision, Iceberg merely scoffed and said, "No you don't." Sure the man had been right but that didn't mean that he had to stop work on the project.

After all, this project didn't belong to Iceberg, but to Franky. In reality Iceberg was lucky that Franky needed him to get this project done as quickly as possible, after what the Straw Hats had done at Enies Lobby and the newspaper that came out three days earlier there was no doubt in Franky's mind that the marines would come to Water 7 looking for them. As close as he had gotten to the crazy crew he didn't want there to be trouble for the city that didn't come from him. After all this was Tom's home.

Focused on the can for so long, Fronky finally looked up to get a better hold of his bearings. Growing up in Water 7 he knew every backway, alleyway, and waterway from the Galley La docks to his home, the Franky House. However, when he looked up he realized that he was totally and utterly lost. How the hell did that happen? Blinking several times Franky looked around noticing how bare the streets were he sighed in slight defeat of the idea of asking someone for directions.

Franky then decided to look for any familiar landmarks that might help, but due to how dark it was that was easier said than done. As much as he hated to admit it, perhaps Iceberg had been right. It was ridiculously dark, but then why weren't the streetlights working? Wasn't it Iceberg's job as mayor to ensure that the city's lights were in working order for the safety of the people?

Franky was brought out of his musings from a familiar voice. "Franky, is that you?" Franky followed his ears and turned to his left with a grin.

"Sogeking are you trying to sneak a peek at the new ship I'm building?" Franky teased playfully. Sure because of him Franky's family had been beat up pretty bad but he considered him and Usopp friends now, or at least close acquaintances.

Sogeking or Usopp frowned slightly. "We're nowhere near the shipyard, are you lost or something?" Franky began sputtering, but before he could give a reply Usopp interjected with a grin. "You are lost!" Then his face fell. "Great I was hoping someone could tell me where I am." A short bark quickly brought Usopp out of his slump. "Yes Row, I know you know where you're going, but it doesn't help me when I have no idea where I am."

Franky looked from Usopp to the dog that he was talking to. "I didn't know you had a pet."

Usopp rubbed the back of his neck with a sheepish grin. "Row isn't really my pet. I found him a couple of days ago and I was hoping I could use him to get in Luffy's good favor to rejoin the crew." His grin softened to a small smile as he began to rub Row behind the ears. "Luffy loves animals, almost as much as he loves eating them," he finished with a slight chuckle.

"Or you could just, oh I don't know, apologize to them." Franky pointed out.

Usopp grinned broadly letting out a hollow laugh. "I don't have to apologize, I haven't done anything wrong. Luffy was the one who did a poor job as captain. He knew how important Merry was to me and…" Before he could finish the sentence Usopp was on the ground with a much bruised but not quite broken jaw.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!?" Franky all but screamed. "Are you going to let your pride get in the way of apologizing to your friend?"

Usopp frowned. "You seem pretty invested in me getting back to the Straw Hats. Why do you care so much?"

"Because I can't stand to see a man lose everything due to his own pride, believe me it is a terrible thing to prioritize."

Usopp rose from his place on the ground and dusted himself off. "First off, OW that hurt. Second I'm not going to lose my friends to pride…" His head lowered "I have too much shame in myself." Franky watched closely with a disbelieving look as Usopp continued. "Everyone on the crew contributes something amazing that I cannot compete with. Zoro and Sanji are monsters, Nami is the only one on the crew that can get the bunch from point A to point B, Robin is super strong and smart, hell even you are an amazing shipwright and inventor…"

Franky nearly stumbled in surprise. "IDIOT I'M NOT A MEMBER OF THE CREW!"

Usopp gave an incredulous look. "You helped save Robin and you're building them a new ship for free. Trust me Luffy will make you a part of the crew, he has his ways."

Franky snorted, but before he could respond to Usopp's ridiculous statement Row let out a sharp bark drawing both of their attention. "What's with the mutt?" Franky asked.

Usopp blinked before staring at Row who was acting more antsy than usual. Over the past couple of days Usopp found Row to be a most agreeable and calm animal. Whenever he felt nervous about the day he would approach Luffy again he found that Row was a calming presence. He had taken Row with him when he followed the crew members to see how Row would react, and to Usopp's delight Row seemed to be calm near his old friends. He was a bit worried about how Row would act around Chopper thinking the dog might try to eat the poor human reindeer, but all Usopp did was point at Chopper and say "friend" and Row lost the hungry glint in his eye.

Row acting antsy meant that there was trouble. Looking in the distance Usopp could barely make out the distinct shape of a lone figure stumbling toward them. Despite the darkness Usopp prided himself on having some of the sharpest eyes one could find, Usopp immediately tensed and pulled his slingshot out of his bag. "Franky, someone's coming."

Franky readied his left arm to fire weapons, their argument earlier all but forgotten in the face of possible danger. The figure got closer and closer, Row became more and more anxious before a familiar voice rang out. "Usopp, is that you?"

There was only one giant lumbering body that had the voice of a small child like that, Chopper. Franky and Usopp immediately lowered their weapons before running to the human reindeer as Chopper collapsed in Franky's arms. "Bro, what happened to ya?" Franky asked concern etched on his face at Chopper's beaten form.

Chopper looked shakily at Usopp who was feeling a mixture of happiness that Chopper had actually acknowledged him and sadness that Chopper was in so much pain. There was also anger and fear but without details… "Usopp, Luffy is… Luffy is…" Chopper paused as tears welled up in his eyes. "Luffy is in trouble."

* * *

One hour earlier…

Luffy patted his bloated stomach in contentment. "Ah, that was good. Sanji you should make that more often."

Said chef merely rolled his eyes as he began washing the mountain of plates that came from being Luffy's cook. "Would you like some help with that?" Several arms sprouted from the countertop and started grabbing plates dunking them gently into the soapy water.

Sanji stumbled back dropping the plate that was in his hank in surprise, but another hand sprouted and caught the plate before it hit the ground. Zoro sat leaned against his chair smirking. "Glad I stayed awake long enough to see the Crap cook flustered."

Sanji was quick to the punch "WHAT WAS THAT YOU… and he's asleep." Sanji's shoulders slumped slightly, before turning to Robin with hearts in his eyes. "Such a kind and helpful gesture my fair Robin, but you shouldn't waste your beautiful hands on such things."

Robin smiled. "But I have so many they must be bored and need to have something to do," she replied jokingly coy.

Sanji let out a smirk, but before he could even open his mouth he was slammed in the head by a feminine fist. "Don't even go there," Nami growled.

While the great dishes fiasco was going on Chopper turned to Luffy and began speaking. "Luffy, I've been looking at your charts and it seems that maybe you could be fully healed from your chart with Lucci…"

Luffy stood on the chair punching the air with a victory pose. "Yahoo! Now I can…"

"Hold it!" Chopper interrupted. "I said you might be fully healed, emphasis on "might" but I still want you to take it slow. So I heard that there is a wide space about 3 miles from here that we could check your physical abilities and healing progress by having you spar with someone."

"Awesome!" Luffy shouted, wrapping a rubbery arm around Zoro's waste. "Let's go Zoro!"

Zoro was not amused being woken up by his captain in such a way. "Idiot, I'm trying to sleep!" But Luffy laughed uncaringly as he prepared to rocket out of the hotel window with no idea where he was going.

However, before he could launch, Chopper interrupted yet again. "Actually Luffy, I was hoping you would let me spar with you." Luffy immediately relaxed his taut arm and both he and Zoro looked at Chopper in mild surprise, a faint blush tinted the reindeer's cheeks. "Well you see, Zoro doesn't know how to hold back, and it would be better if I did the sparring so I can have better feel for how you're healing Luffy, and um…" Chopper shuffled slightly biting his lower lip. "I was hoping that sparring with you would help me grow stronger."

The rest of the crew had joined Luffy and Zoro in looking at Chopper whose blush only deepened at the additional attention. "Um, if that's okay with you that is."

Luffy merely grinned unwrapping his arm from Zoro's waist and wrapping it around Chopper's. "Sure is, let's go!" And with that they both launched out the window Chopper screaming the entire way.

The remaining crew members blinked in surprise before several mutters of "idiot" was uttered by the crew and they returned to their tasks. Not long after a knock was heard at the door, not particularly busy Nami answered the door. "Hello?"

A tall man with pale skin and burgundy lips wearing a jumpsuit and top hat greeted Nami with a smile "Hello, young lady. Is your captain in this evening?"

* * *

Chopper and Luffy hit the ground hard with Luffy taking the brunt of the impact on his legs. "LUFFY, I TOLD YOU TO TAKE IT EASY!" Chopper scolded.

"Oops," Luffy offered shrugging his shoulders in laughter. Chopper merely sighed and after shifting into walk-point began sniffing the air. While Luffy had probably meant well launching them out the window landed them both far from the hotel in an unknown area of Water 7, he was lucky they didn't land in one of the many waterways. "Hey Chopper, where is this field you were talking about!"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out," he snapped slightly at Luffy. "However…" He sniffed the air again. "I can't seem to smell it." He shifted back into Brain-point. "Luffy I don't like this. I didn't realize it was so dark out here, and now we're lost and and…"

Luffy grabbed Chopper by his hoof and began walking. "Don't worry Chopper, when I'm lost I usually start walking and find where I'm supposed to go or somewhere better. It turns into a treasure hunt."

Chopper sighed while being led by Luffy towards who knows where. After several minutes Chopper spoke up. "Luffy maybe we should go back to the hotel, I didn't realize it would get this dark this early, and to be frank this darkness feels wrong…" Luffy's grip on Chopper's hoof tightened and his body tensed. "Luffy are you okay?"

"Zehahahaha, finding you was easier than expected Straw Hat Luffy."

Luffy's frown deepened while Chopper looked around panicked. "What's going on? It's so dark. Luffy, WHERE ARE YOU!?" Chopper wailed completely panic stricken as the dreadful darkness encompassed him fully. He couldn't see, he couldn't hear, he couldn't smell. He couldn't feel Luffy's hand on his hoof anymore. Every sense was stripped from him except for the heaviness that overwhelmed him he felt nothing. "I'm so weak." Chopper muttered to himself over and over.

Luffy's eyes widened slightly in panic. What had gotten into his friend? One second he had his hand firmly grasped around Chopper's small hoof and the next his hoof had sharply jerked out of Luffy's hand in such a violent hurry that it caught the rubber captain by surprise. After his initial shock Luffy went to glaring at the man that had laughed at him. "What did you do to Chopper?" His voice was low but he knew the man had heard him.

The man grinned showing a row of crooked yellowing teeth. "Honestly just a little experimental fun." His hand supported a dancing inky black cloud of darkness. "Surely you remember what it was like when you first got your devil fruit powers. Isn't it exciting figuring out what they can do?" The inky blob grew larger and larger growing more erratic in its dance. "Why I remember the animated stories that Ace told me about you. How you were always inventing new names for your attacks. Gum Gum Pistol, Rocket, Bazooka…" His voice trailed off slightly as he spared a glance at Straw Hat.

The boy that had been looking at him with such rage was now looking at him with such childlike confusion that it almost gave Blackbeard emotional whiplash of the best kind. "You know Ace?"

Blackbeard grinned. "Of course, he was my commander after all."

Remembrances of meeting Ace in Alabasta flashed through Luffy's mind. A frown creased Luffy's jaw and he seemed to puzzle over something before in shock. "You're that guy Ace is chasing." Blackbeard smiled. "You're Blue Bread!"

Blackbeard's countenance fell slightly in disbelief before yelling. "It's BLACKBEARD!"

"Oh yeah," Luffy giggled. "Sorry."

Unbelievable, this boy was simply unbelievable. Blackbeard never quite believed some of the stories his commander told about his brother. After all no one could be stupid enough to be swallowed by an alligator twice in the same day right? But as Blackbeard got a good look at the boy in front of him he realized that he might actually be that stupid. This was either going to be easier or harder than he thought. "Why don't you come with me so I can turn you over to the Marines?"

Luffy sat down on the ground legs crossed. "Don't wanna."

Blackbeard couldn't help but smirk, he should've known but it was worth a shot. "Then we'll just have to fight."

"Don't wanna do that either." Luffy pouted before pointing a finger at a blinking Blackbeard. "I'm annoyed at what you did to Chopper, but you're Ace's fight." A small shiver ran through the boy. "Ace would kill me if I fought you."

Blackbeard couldn't help but laugh before a wry smile graced his face. "Are you sure? After all, your friend doesn't look so good." He said pointing a finger at Chopper who was rolling on the ground screaming and muttering how weak he was.

Luffy looked back and forth from Blackbeard to Chopper confliction clear across his face. He wanted to beat up this guy so bad for what he did to Chopper, whatever that was, but this guy was Ace's fight. However Ace wasn't here so as long as he didn't know… "Hey Button Butt…"

"Blackbeard," an annoyed voice growled.

"Whatever, I'll kick your butt on one condition." Luffy paused for a brief moment before continuing. "Don't tell Ace."

Before he could reply in the positive or negative if he would agree to Luffy's request a rubbery fist had slammed into Blackbeard's sternum knocking him several feet before he crashed into a nearby building.

Blackbeard coughed up a small bit of blood before turning to Luffy with a grin. "Well, this is going to be fun." With that uttered he took the black blob that had been dancing in his hand and threw it with all his might. Before he knew what had happened Luffy was surrounded in complete and utter darkness. At that same moment Chopper raised his head, though dazed with tears in his eyes he seemed to be doing better than he was earlier. "Interesting, it seems that particular aspect of my power can only affect one at a time."

Chopper looked at Luffy in panic. His captain was on the ground shaking uncontrollably. What had happened to him? "Luffy, what's wrong?" Chopper asked, his voice filled with concern. A laugh filled the air; a familiar laugh filled the air. It was the same laugh he heard while in that black nothingness. Chopper turned slowly from Luffy following the sound seeing Blackbeard laughing jovially at Luffy's suffering. "Bastard, what did you do to him?" Chopper took off heading straight for Blackbeard Rumble ball ready in hoof. Taking a bite, "Rumble ball: Jumping point" Chopper leapt toward Blackbeard with powerful legs.

Not knowing much about his new opponent's fighting abilities Blackbeard allowed himself to be hit by the powerful kick, unfortunately that meant that a few of his ribs were broken in the process. "Damn, that was painful," Blackbeard grunted.

Chopper smiled, this was going to be easier than he thought. Chopper then shook his head at that thought. No, he couldn't let his guard down this man had a Devil Fruit that he didn't understand, so Chopper had to be careful. Shifting into Horn Point Chopper charged toward Blackbeard at high speed, but right before he could reach him a gunshot was heard and Chopper quickly changed into his Guard Point which caused a bullet that would have punctured his lungs to pass harmlessly through thick fur.

"What was that for Augur?" Blackbeard asked with a mixture of bitterness and humor. "I could've taken him."

"Please focus on the task at hand." Augur admonished his captain slightly. "Your Dark Fog doesn't last that long and will dissipate soon. We need to grab Straw Hat and get out of Water 7 quickly."

Blackbeard gave a slight chuckle and after a slight wince of pain brushed himself off and headed toward Luffy who was still currently balled up on the ground due to Blackbeard's earlier attack. Seeing this Chopper transformed into his Jumping Point and headed toward Luffy when another shot rang out stopping Chopper in his tracks. Augur held his… partial attention. "Don't you want to finish our fight little reindeer?" Augur mocked.

"You're the one who interrupted my fight with Blackbeard!" Chopper shot back surprised at how much venom his voice held. Why did this man make him so angry?

Augur smirked before stroking his rifle a sinister tone entered his voice as he spoke. "You know I've been watching you, you're quite impressive. Not many Zoan types can transform beyond their three basic forms. Our captain has big ideas and plans we could use a good Zoan type like you."

Chopper couldn't help the small dance he did and blush that came across his face at the man's praise as it was his nature but he quickly pulled himself together. "I would never join you besides I am a Straw Hat!" He finished proudly. "I will stay by Luffy's side and protect him."

Augur smirked. "Well you have done a poor job." At this taunt Chopper spun around placing his full attention on Blackbeard and Luffy who were gone.

"No, Luffy!" Chopper screamed bounding over to where his captain had been, but before he could get there another shot rang out hitting him in the shoulder. Screaming in pain Chopper gripped his shoulder with his humanlike hand as he had transformed into Heavy Point the effects of his Rumble Ball just wearing off. Another gunshot rang out hitting Chopper in his right foot. Screaming in pain he fell to the ground shaking slightly.

Augur approached him slowly a rueful expression on his face. "Know that I could have killed you at any time and only left you alive as it amuses me." With that he took his leave.

Chopper grunted as the pain in his shoulder and foot ebbed into a dull ache. He would have to act fast or else he would die of blood loss. Luckily Chopper knew how to treat gunshot wounds on himself. Under most circumstances Chopper would properly clean the wound before wrapping it, but with the life of Luffy on the line Chopper merely poured some honey on his wounds and wrapped some heavy duty gauze around his shoulder and foot. The bullet in his foot would have to come out later. Gathering his strength of will he got himself up and started walking toward where he saw Augur heading. With the "Dark Fog" there was no way he could get back to the hotel where everyone else was with the way it was scrambling his senses and the pain he was in. Chopper would just have to hope for the best, walking for what felt like hours but in reality was only a few minutes Chopper heard two familiar voices in the distance, smiling Chopper made his way toward those voices.

 **A/N: Next Chapter will be the last of this little flashback then we will get back to the current time**


	4. Chapter 3: The Winds of Change

**Ehehehe I'm just going to leave this chapter here. Please don't be too mad about me not updating I just lost my muse for a while and this chapter has sat unfinished on my computer for too long.**

 **Chapter 3: The Winds of Change**

When Usopp ran he ran fast. That was one of the few good things about being a coward, his speed and endurance were absolutely incredible, seeing as he was constantly running away from dangerous situations (of course it all started with running from angry villagers in Syrupp). However at this particular moment he was knowingly running toward danger, and not just any danger, but one that according to Chopper defeated one Monkey D. Luffy, the strongest person that Usopp knew.

Focused solely on running so he wouldn't chicken out Usopp was jolted back to reality by a sharp bark from Row. The dog was right now proving to be an even greater help to Usopp than he had originally intended and he was going to use the dog to get in Luffy's good favor, now thanks to his sharp nose, a bit of Blackbeard's blood on Chopper's hoof, and the now rapidly clearing darkness Row was able to pick up a scent and was now tracking the man.

Usopp nearly tripped over Row from stopping so fast, but the dog was unperturbed. Row stood completely stiff his entire body seemed to increase in size as his fur stood on end growling savagely at the image before them. Usopp began trembling in fear now that the adrenaline from running was beginning to slow down. He watched in horror as Luffy was hanging limply from a broad man's shoulders, the mask wearing man gave a shrill laugh before speaking to who Usopp assumed to be Blackbeard. As much as Usopp strained his ears he couldn't hear the conversation between Blackbeard and the large masked crew member.

Then to Usopp's utter surprise and horror Row began tearing after them teeth bared as he leapt toward the masked man, the masked man merely looked toward the dog and held out his arm for the dog to bite. Row sunk his teeth on the man's arm who barely winced as Row's teeth dug deeper and deeper into flesh. "Talk about biting the hand that feeds, eh Burgess?"

Usopp continued to stare in utter confusion. Why was Row acting like this? Sure, he didn't know the dog for very long, but after two days Usopp knew that Row was calm and intelligent. So why was it acting so savage? Did it have something to do with that dark fog from earlier, or perhaps something else? Usopp then felt his breath catch as he realized what Row was doing, in putting out his arm the man known as "Burgess" had carelessly let Luffy fall from his shoulders onto the docks where their tiny boat was casually waiting. Row was providing a distraction for Usopp to grab Luffy and run, with a shaky gulp Usopp began to edge his way toward his former captain.

* * *

Zoro shot up fast as lightning, his head pounding frantically as the pounding on the door. Staggering slightly he realized that he was on the floor and not the chair he remembered falling asleep in. He then noticed that everyone was on the floor and was coming too as he was, he tried to gather his thoughts, but the constant pounding was dashing all hopes of that happening. "I'm coming," Zoro half-yelled, half-mumbled, but before he could open it the door flew open and two very familiar faces flew into him. "Chopper, Franky, what the hell is happening?" His eyes then drifted to Chopper's bleeding form, "Chopper, what happened to you? Where is Luffy?"

"Zoro, you have to help Usopp!" Chopper cried with a shaky breath. "He's going after Blackbeard." Zoro raised his eyebrow in confusion and looked to Franky for an explanation.

"Luffy has been kidnapped by some pirate named Blackbeard, he ambushed them and grabbed Luffy while Chopper here got messed up by their Sniper." Franky explained while moving Chopper to the bed. "Oh, by the way it seems that they may have been heading toward the docks on the northeast side of Water 7. See there is a hidden… and he's gone," Franky muttered.

"Tell me more about this secret dock," a smooth feminine voice commanded. Franky nearly jumped from his skin and metal as he turned and saw Robin standing there with her arms crossed and a tight smile on her face.

* * *

Usopp could not believe his luck; he was practically underneath the two men's noses mere feet from his captain. He spared Row a quick glance who still had his teeth stuck in Burgess's arm. Not even daring to take a breath in fear of giving himself away Usopp belly crawled reaching out to just touch Luffy, however at the slight brush of Usopp's fingertips Luffy shot straight up slamming unwittingly into Burgess's nose causing the man to jerk his arm, making Row slam into the small boat which they planned on using as their getaway vessel.

Blackbeard looked down at his prize who was now thrashing violently and spotted someone new. "Why, hello there. Is this your dog on my boat and your captain…?" Blackbeard got a twisted grin on his face as he slammed his foot on Luffy's face. "…under my boot!"

Usopp watched in horror as Blackbeard continually stomped on Luffy, not because of the act but how his captain was reacting. Every time Blackbeard's boot connected to Luffy's face he screamed out like he was being stabbed by red hot pokers. This of course confused Usopp greatly; why was Luffy acting like this? He went through worse than this with Lucci.

"Honestly captain, must you break our gift to the world government?" A calm voice asked.

"Cough, cough, I think the government would like the prize more if it was broken," another voice leeched in. The man belonging to the voice looked down to Row on the boat, "you poor animal. Would you like an apple?" The man placed a dull red apple right by the dog's nose. Rolling from his side to his stomach Row gave the apple an inquisitive sniff before looking at the man who gave the offering and giving a low growl. "Ah, it seems you don't like the 'extra flavor' I add to my apples, cough."

Usopp gave a slight sigh of relief before his attention snapped back to Luffy, though it was unintentional this time Row had managed to distract the crew again. His heart beat frantically as he grabbed Luffy by his vest and with strength he didn't know he had dragged Luffy from between the two giant men.

Unfortunately his former captain did not react well to the sudden contact and being dragged away. "Luffy, what is wrong with you?" Usopp hissed. Luffy thrashed even more violently than before, garnering the attention of everyone present.

"Would you like to experience what is wrong with your captain?" Blackbeard asked as a black blob danced across his fingertips, but before he could toss the inky darkness toward him Usopp with quick thinking reached into his satchel and fired a Tabasco Star at Blackbeard's eyes causing the man to scream in pain and miss his intended target. It instead hit an unfortunate small common lizard which began to run wildly into the dark fearing for its life.

The change in Luffy was immediate, shooting up quickly and looking around in confusion the first person he spotted was Usopp. The young captain immediately scrambled onto his feet and tightly embraced his friend. "Usopp, you're back!" He laughed.

Usopp was temporarily stunned. Would Luffy really just accept him back like this? With a confident smirk to cover his uncertainty, Usopp bragged. "I knew you would come running to me when the time was right… Luffy what's wrong?"

The young captain had relaxed his formerly tight embrace and his face became solemn. "Usopp, why didn't you just apologize?" Usopp blinked in confusion at his captain's question, and then his eyes widened with worried as Luffy turned and walked away from him, not even acknowledging his presence. A shot rang through the sky catching Luffy in the back of his head, rubbing where the bullet had struck more from annoyance than pain Luffy spun around his attention on the shooter. "What the hell was that for?"

"Fascinating," Augur breathed out in excitement. "It's just like Ace."

Collecting himself from his initial sadness about being rejected by Luffy, Usopp began to shout to get his attention. "Luffy! We need to get out of here! Those guys are dangerous!" Already beginning his run toward town Usopp looked back and saw Luffy standing there and looking determinedly at Blackbeard and the rest of his crew.

"Hey, I've got to beat you up for Chopper, eh where is he?" Luffy looked around for his crewmate before being interrupted by a distraught Usopp.

"Luffy don't worry about Chopper, he's with Franky and is fine, and we need to get out of here," Usopp was practically begging, but being Luffy he didn't listen, instead his legs began pumping and his body turned red and began to steam and shine as sweat evaporated off of him.

Intrigued by this, Blackbeard prepared himself for battle and then without warning he was unceremoniously knocked on his hindquarters as Luffy's head slammed into his chest. "Damn it not again!" This caused several of Blackbeard's crew members to chuckle under their breath.

Not wanting to lose too much face in front of his crew Blackbeard grinned before slamming his hands into the ground and yelling, "Black hole!" Black tendrils came from his arms and a small chasm of darkness opened.

The effect was immediate, the road began to warp beneath the darkness and the pieces of wood from the dock groaned against the nails as splinters flew into the chasm. Luffy felt incredible pressure on his head then the rest of his body as it snapped in toward his head due to the tremendous gravity. Despite the great energy boost Gear Second granted him Luffy found it difficult to stand and found himself lying flat on his stomach splinters from the dock embedding themselves in his skin.

"Can't get up," Luffy mumbled. This caused Blackbeard's crew to howl in laughter. Surely the little shrimp who took down CP-9 would be more difficult to take out. Being the first attack that Blackbeard had mastered with his Devil Fruit he had great mastery over this particular attack. Adjusting the gravity level allowed Burgess to enter the field unscathed and pick up Luffy who was still feeling the effects of Black hole was finding it difficult to breathe.

It was then that Usopp decided he needed to something, but what? Blackbeard had easily dispatched Luffy and the rest of his crew seemed to be very strong. The one Usopp worried about the most besides Blackbeard was the sniper. Being a sniper himself Usopp could tell that Blackbeard's sniper was skilled and could have easily redirected the tabasco star away from his captain, but decided not to for his own amusement. He knew this by the way Augur seemed to reach for his rifle and contemplate shooting the tabasco star that Usopp fired at Blackbeard's eyes then decided against it.

The other thing that Usopp was worried about was Row; the dog had disappeared from the boat in the chaos and had run off somewhere. Usopp hoped that Row was alright wherever he was…

* * *

"Damn it all, where is he? Luffy!" Zoro yelled out in frustration. The green-haired man was surprisingly closer to his captain than he would have thought; in fact if he would just walk (or run) 200 paces west he would find Luffy slumped on the shoulders of one Jesus Burgess while another was slowly and methodically lifting the anchor from the sea floor.

Anyone who knew Zoro would be surprised that he had gotten this close to Luffy. After all this was the guy that could get lost going to a big red barn in an open field, while being three feet from the barn. However, in some strange twist of fate the fog that Blackbeard had created which was meant to confuse and rattle all forms of navigational experience had actually helped Zoro find his way toward Luffy, but alas it couldn't last for as Zoro neared his captain the fog lifted and the setting sun illuminated the lavender sky giving great sight to everything around. This of course meant that Zoro was completely lost.

Zoro grunted in frustration at the lack of response, before deciding to turn east (of course). That was when he heard barking. Zoro did another 180 to find the source of the incessant noise and spotted a large black dog barking manically at Zoro to get his attention. Not one to back away from a challenge Zoro drew his sword and headed toward the dog.

"You should know not to challenge someone you can't beat mutt." Zoro grinned as he walked toward the dog. Said dog immediately began to run towards the west and towards where Luffy was. Zoro of course didn't know this and sheathed his sword muttering coward under his breath and heading out to look for Luffy again.

That was until the damn dog came back and stole his bandana from his trousers. Gleefully the dog ran towards the west with his prize and Zoro chased after it. "Hang on Luffy." Zoro griped. I've got a mutt to catch.

* * *

"How could we have gotten so far off track?" Franky muttered to himself. The fog had finally cleared and the purple sky tinted with the orange of the setting sun told Franky that they were in the shipping district which happened to be on the south side of Water 7.

Sanji looked towards Franky with a very irritated expression, "How could you have gotten so lost? Haven't you lived here your whole life?"

"It was the damn fog's fault." Franky groaned in exasperation, "I don't even think Nami could navigate through it." The second those words left his mouth he knew that he made a mistake. He verbally lurched before slowly turning to see Sanji's raging face and flaming leg.

"Apologize before I murder you," Sanji growled under his breath.

"Sorry about that bro, it's just that I am really worried and say stupid things when I am." Franky spilled uncharacteristically somber.

Sanji sighed lowering his leg before turning to Robin. "Robin-Swan, are your powers working yet can you see Luffy?"

Robin shook her head in slight frustration. "With the fog gone I can use my powers but I don't know if we are close enough to Luffy for me to see him." She explained.

Sanji hummed in slightly frustrated understanding, not at Robin (never at Robin) but at the situation, nothing seemed to be going their way. "What are we going to do? How close do you need to be for your powers to work?"

"I have to be within one mile of him for a clear picture, any further out and the image will be blurry." Robin explained. "I have a bad feeling though. We might not make it on time."

"Not if I have anything to say about it." Franky grinned. "Grab onto my shoulders you two." Sanj and Robin looked towards each other in confusion, before each shrugged their shoulders in curios acceptance and grasped onto the Cyborg's shoulders. Immediately Franky's heels began to transform and tiny rockets spouted out. "This is a new modification and congratulations you are the first to help me test them out."

"What are you talking abou-…. Ahhh !" Sanj yelled as him Robin and Franky began rocketing forward at ridiculously high speeds.

* * *

Usopp looked out to the horizon in utter shock. In just the span of a few seconds the Blackbeard pirates had gotten Luffy onto the boat, tied him up, raised anchor and set sail. He could still make out their boat as they hadn't gotten very far and he knew that he had to do something but what could he do? There were despite there being a dock no boats nearby in the water he could pursue them in and even if there was one what would he do? There was no way Usopp could take on a crew of pirates by himself in open water.

Usopp stalked up and down the deck wondering what to do when he heard a voice, "Damn it mutt give me back my bandanna." The voice was loud, gruff, annoyed, terrifying, and beautiful to Usopp all at the same time.

Usopp looked up and saw Row running toward him with a gleeful expression and a dark green bandanna in his teeth and a familiar green haired swordsman running close behind. "Zoro!" He cried out in joy. Zoro looked up from his chase, a look of shock changing to one of anger. Confusion crossed Usopp's expression until he looked down and saw that Row had dropped Zoro's prized bandanna at his feet with a look of triumph in his eyes. "Ah, Row, good job on getting Zoro, but now he is going to kill us!" Usopp cried voice growing frantic. Zoro now stood less than 4 feet from Usopp, arms crossed, tapping his foot in waiting, Usopp took no time in handing the swordsman his bandanna.

"What the hell Usopp," Zoro reprimanded. "Did you send that mutt to steal from me?" He asked pointing at Row.

"No, I, He, did that all by himself." Usopp explained. Zoro not fully convinced raised a skeptical eyebrow as Usopp fumbled his words; that was when Row started barking manically at the water and Usopp's eyes widened in realization. "Zoro, they got Luffy we have to help him!"Zoro wasted no time jumping off the dock into the water. Usopp sweatdropped. "What the hell Zoro," he murmured.

That was when he heard Sanji's voice. "Look out!" Usopp shrieked in terror as he sidestepped. Everything happened in slow motion Franky was yelling something indistinguishable as he, Sanji, and Robin sped off the deck into the murky water below slamming into Zoro.

"Ow, what the hell was that you damn cook?" Zoro yelled immediately blaming Sanji for his pain.

"Me?" Sanji responded incredulously before jerking a thumb toward Franky, "This is the guy that nearly got us killed."

Before Franky could give a retort, Usopp yelled, "Guys Robin is drowning." Everyone immediately froze before Sanji dove into the water to find and save Robin. Less than two minutes later they both rose to the surface, Robin looked absolutely exhausted while Sanji simply looked concerned. "Here, I'll help pull her up," Usopp offered extending a hand. Working together Usopp and Sanji managed to get Robin back onto the dock the gentle rise and fall of her chest indicated breathing and that she was fine. Usopp sighed in relief before looking back out to the water that was when dread filled his very being, for he could no longer see Blackbeard's ship. "Guy's I can't see them anymore, Luffy is gone."

The mood shifted from worry over Robin to somber, Zoro and Franky climbed back onto the dock. How were they supposed to swim after a boat that even Usopp couldn't see? Zoro and Franky made their way back onto the deck at this point Robin was coming too as well. "Robin, how are you feeling?" Sanji asked without the usual over dramatics.

Robin nodded her head slowly. "I'm fine." As the pain subsided she found herself chuckling at the absurdity of everything "I haven't almost drowned like that since I was a kid."

Everyone gave a small but brief smile before turning somber again, "We'll need to get Nami and Chopper, we'll need both of them if we're going to find Luffy." Zoro pointed out.

"If you guys can wait a few hours and if I get enough help from the Galley-La shipwrights I can get your ship ready." Franky offered.

Everyone looked at each other before Robin spoke up looking at Usopp. "Usopp did Blackbeard give any indication as to where he was taking Luffy." Usopp gave a pondering expression before shaking his head. Robin frowned. "Then we'll have to assume the worst. We'll have to assume that he is being taken to Impel Down."

"What!?"

"Seriously?"

"Wait didn't we destroy Enies Lobby? How are they going to take Luffy to Impel Down without going through Enies Lobby?" Usopp pointed out.

"Idiot, Enies Lobby was a ruse," Sanji pointed out. "There isn't any need to actually bring someone through there."

"Actually Usopp may have a point Mr. Cook." Robin explained. "Yes, you are right that Enies Lobby is a ruse we have to remember that the World Government cares very much about keeping up the appearance of Justice. If a pirate is brought in alive before them he must go on a trial no matter how biased or obscure before sending him to Impel Down. In other words he'll be fine for at least a week unless Blackbeard kills him."

Everyone blanched slightly at Robin's last statement before Zoro spoke again. "So we have time but we'll need to be fast. Alright here's the plan Robin, crap cook and I will go get the she-witch and Chopper, Franky you go get to work on finishing the ship."

Usopp looked to Zoro expectedly waiting for him to speak some role for him but nothing came. "Zoro, what about me?"

"What about you Usopp?" Zoro responded. "Didn't you leave the crew? Why do you care what happens to Luffy?"

Sanji, Zoro, Robin, and Franky looked at Usopp expectedly, hopefully even for his response, "I, I-"Usopp's voice shuddered in uncertainty. He didn't know what to say, that was when he felt Row nudge his hand, Usopp smiled at the affectionate gesture and gained confidence. "I have to apologize to Luffy for everything that happened between us."

Everyone grinned. "Well I can't say welcome back to the crew, but let's say we get back the idiot who can." Zoro spoke up.

"Right," Everyone cheered.

* * *

Nami stared at the door as the sound of loud rapping rang from it. Unlike last time she approached the door with caution. Chopper was on the bed sleeping peacefully thanks to the drugs coursing through his body, with the adrenaline of trying to save Luffy gone he realized how much pain he was in and was treated by the only other crew member that had some semblance of medical knowledge.

"Nami, it's us, open the door." That was Sanji's voice. Breathing a sigh of relief, Nami unlocked the deadbolt and relief turned to utter sadness at the sight before her. Robin, Sanji, and Zoro stood before her soaking wet and downcast. There was no ray of sunshine known as Luffy with them.

"What happened?" Nami asked with a demanding tone. At this moaning was heard from Chopper's bed and Nami rushed over to reindeer to care for him. "How are you feeling Chopper?" She asked gently. The little reindeer had shifted back to brain point after being injected with the drugs luckily the wound had already been cleaned and taken care of to avoid complications.

Chopper ignored the question and looked toward the front door. "Luffy, he, he didn't come back did he?" His voice shook as he continued. "I couldn't save him from Blackbeard and now he's gone."

"It's not your fault Chopper…" Nami began. "That idiot probably would have run off even without your consent and gotten captured anyway."

"Yeah, he gets captured all the time. I'm sure Luffy has probably already escaped and is-"

"Stop treating me like a child!" Chopper snapped. Everyone turned their eyes toward Chopper, even Zoro was slightly taken aback by his tone. "You weren't there, you don't know- you didn't see the fear and the terror in Luffy's eyes." Tears began to fall on his legs as he struggled to sit upright. "Do you know what it's like to see someone you admire so much become so afraid."

Nami immediately began to hug Chopper rubbing his back in soothing comfort, Sanji and Robin leaned against the doorframe and wall respectively. Only Zoro had the ability to ask what was on everyone's mind. "What do you mean Luffy was afraid?"

"When Blackbeard attacks he uses what appears to be darkness itself." Chopper explained. "I'm not sure how it works but when he attacked me I felt like I was being swallowed whole; like there was a crushing darkness threatening to consume my very being, and the worst part was the feeling of absolute loneliness."

"Robin, how are you feeling?" Sanji asked. He noticed the woman's eyes grow wide and her hands had started shaking slightly.

"I'm fine. I just need to sit down for a moment." She responded.

Zoro began to stalk the floor in angry thought. This was going to be more complicated than he had anticipated. He originally thought that he would and the rest of the Straw Hats would be able to track Blackbeard with the help of their navigator, they would kick ass before Luffy got to Impel Down, and they would sail off on their merry way. However- "Chopper, didn't you say that when you left you were going to test Luffy's strength before leaving? " Chopper nodded his head slowly. "And his results?"

Chopper gave a sigh before speaking. "Luffy has been at 100% ever since his examination this afternoon."

Everyone's breath hitched. "Damn."

* * *

Iceburg sipped his tea slowly and methodically. As much as he hated to admit it, he was a little bit glad when the fog rolled in and they had to stop work on Franky's dream ship, for he was still in quite a bit of pain from nearly being killed and he had refused painkiller medication to keep his mind sharp while working on the ship.

He looked at the wanted posters before him and began to ponder. As mayor of Water 7 the closest major city to Marine Headquarters he had frontline access to new Bounty posters that come out. He had posters for all of the Straw Hats (which was quite the accomplishment very few pirate crews had bounties for all of their members) and one Cyborg Franky. Iceberg had been thinking about how he could get him to join the Straw Hats when they were finished building the ship, it was time to let the past go.

He was brought out of his musings by his front door being knocked down and being grabbed by Zambai and taken outside his home toward the Shipyard. There was a part of him that wanted to ask why the Franky Family was kidnapping him, but honestly he decided to just go with it. What was the worst that could happen?

* * *

Usopp smiled at the sight before him. The entire Franky Family and Galley-La crew were working diligently on the Straw Hats new ship under the glow of lamplight. Although Merry was now gone he knew that her spirit would carry on in this new boat (he wasn't sure what she was called yet).

Usopp was surprised at how easy it was to convince the Galley-La workers to come out to work in the evening time, of course it may have had something to do with the small lie he gave about Franky leaving Water 7 to join the Straw Hats. Even though he believed that would be the case there wasn't anything definitive yet, but when he mentioned it every one of the workers had jumped up at the chance pulled up their boots and got to work.

Usopp walked up to Mozu and Kiwi who were scratching Row affectionately behind the ears, they along with the rest of the Franky family had teared up when they heard how the dog did everything that it could to save Luffy. "I'm surprised you guys are helping us out like this." Usopp pointed out. "I would've thought you would want Franky to stay."

Mozu smiled sadly rubbing Row's head absentmindedly. "Don't get us wrong we will miss our big brother, but he needs to move on with his life. We appreciate everything he's done for us, but he will never get another opportunity like this." She then turned directly to Usopp and spoke in a low tone. "Not to mention Kokoro informed us that Franky has a bounty on his head now."

Usopp felt his stomach drop. If Franky had a bounty, then it was likely that the rest of them had bounties as well which gave him even more motivation to want to leave and get Luffy. "Wait, I haven't seen anything about bounty posters in the newspaper today, how does Kokoro know about this?"

Kiwi shrugged her shoulders. "Kokoro has her ways of getting information but she most likely got it from Iceburg."

"I didn't tell Kokoro anything." Usopp spun around and saw Water 7's mayor standing behind them along with Franky and Zambai. "So tell me why I have been kidnapped from my home."

Franky rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "We kind of need your help getting the ship done a fast as possible. You see-"

Iceburg held up his hand. "Then we don't have time for explanations. Let's get to work."

Franky sputtered slightly, mumbled some curses under his breath, and ran after Iceburg. "Hey don't act like you're in charge here. This is my project."

Usopp sighed and watched as the two bickered the entire way to the ship. He could tell that they were close. "We'll definitely need to come back to Water 7 one day." He mused to himself.

* * *

It had taken nearly 36 hours of nonstop work from everyone but the dream ship was finally finished, and just in the nick of time as well. For everyone's bounty posters had been released to the public.

The Straw Hats all reacted very differently. Usopp and Nami were acting scared but couldn't help the sense of pride that welled up inside them. Zoro was grinning manically when he saw that his poster was over 100 Million Beli. Robin was indifferent, Chopper was sad that his bounty was so low, Franky was surprised, and Sanji was well-

"How could they have done this to me?" He wailed. "I don't look anything like this; no girl is ever going to want to talk to me."

Zoro laughed heartily at Sanji's dismay which caused the cook to growl. Honestly Zoro wasn't sure which made him smile more at this point his bounty poster or the cook's. However his mood changed when he saw Luffy's poster stating that he was wanted at 300 million belis. He and the rest of the crew learned as much as they could about Marine Headquarters and Impel Down. Though he was normally a head right in without thinking kind of person Robin had convinced him that they should take the opportunity to plan.

So plan they did. He, Chopper, and Sanji all worked on their techniques and strategies to take out Blackbeard, even Usopp came by from helping out on the shipyard to give them what little information he had on the rest of the crew. Nami was studying maps and waterways of the area trying to figure out an escape route once they got out to open waters and Robin was studying World Government affairs in dealing with pirates. She informed them that if a pirate over 150 belis was taken to Impel Down they would go straight to the bottom level and there was rumored to be a level below even that.

With Luffy's bounty being as high as it was there was no doubt in Zoro's mind that unless Whitebeard himself decided to just surrender to the World Government, then his captain would take precedent over all other matters. It filled him with an odd mixture of pride and dread. Squaring his shoulders in determination he spoke to the rest of the crew. "Let's get going."

Everyone nodded in the affirmative and boarded the boat before Franky stopped them with a cry of "Wait" for they haven't christened the new ship. Everyone paused briefly before suggesting names. Franky scoffed at the notion that since the figurehead looked like a flower it should have a floral name, honestly didn't they see that it was a lion.

"Why not name it the 'Thousand Sunny' for it will carry you over a thousand seas and will shine like the sun." Iceburg suggested. Everyone smiled at the suggestion except for Franky who was too stubborn to admit that it was a damn perfect name.

So off they went, all of the Straw Hats boarded the newly christened "Thousand Sunny" and began to sail towards Marine Headquarters. "I'll be back after I help rescue Luffy!" Franky waved good bye to everyone.

"Oh no you don't Cutty Flam." Iceburg scolded. "I can't have people with bounties running around my city, therefore I hereby banish you."

Franky nearly fell over. "Don't ever call me that again, and besides who will watch over the Franky Family."

"Row will!" The entire Franky Family cheered. The dog had wormed its way into everyone's hearts and despite Usopp being sad about letting the dog go he knew that Water 7 was Row's home and it would be wrong to take him away. Besides Row was being spoiled rotten by them, the Franky Family really was just a big group of softies.

Usopp and the rest of the crew laughed loudly as they held back a raging Franky. It was time for everyone to set sail. As the sail unfurled revealing the Straw Hats logo everyone could feel a sense of hope surging inside of each and every one of them. They would get their captain back no matter what.

"Let's sail."

"RIGHT!"

* * *

Luffy sat in the tiny boat staring angrily at Blackbeard who was laughing with Wrestling Mask guy. It would be easy for him to escape if he didn't feel so heavy from Blackbeard's power and sluggish from the Sea Prism stone.

"You know I was going to drop you off at Marine Headquarters straight away to get into the Warlord seat, however something very interesting has come up so we are heading to the Florian Triangle."

Luffy perked up at this. It was the first time that Blackbeard made any mention of what they were going to do with him. The other members of the crew looked to their captain in confusion.

"We're not going to Marine HQ? What about our plans?" Augur asked.

Blackbeard grinned manically. "You obviously didn't feel the wind shift."

Everyone was puzzled by Blackbeard's statement and their captain merely laughed in a much darker tome that made Luffy involuntarily shutter.

 **LINE BREAK**

 **A/N: What's this, a contrived plot twist? Oh no help I have been taken over by the bad fanfic writers disease.**

 **But seriously folks please read and review. Where do you think this story is going? (it's not like I need ideas or anything *cough cough*)**

 **Also on a more serious not I am sorry for not updating for so long and I hope I didn't rush the ending too much.**


	5. Chapter 4: Straw Hats vs The Marines

**Well looky here a chapter that didn't 3 months to do. I'll try to get the next chapter up by mid to late August but I make no promises.**

Chapter 4: The Straw Hats vs. The Marines

Present Day…

Ace was fuming in both the figurative and literal sense as he paced the ship's dock. He had been pacing for several minutes after hearing the crew's story about what had happened to his brother and quite frankly he was ready to rip someone's head off.

Franky was surprised when he first saw Ace's shoulder start to bubble as heat grew inside him and then pop with a loud hiss when a blast of hot air escaped and small simmering flames started dancing across his shoulders. He looked to Sanji who merely said "Devil Fruit abilities" Ah, that explained it. Franky was about ready to try calming Ace down when Zoro grabbed his shoulder and shook his head.

Franky was about to protest that Ace was going to start warping the deck soon if he didn't "cool down" but he took another look and decided to let the young man pace. "Kid needs something to vent his anger out on."

Zoro nodded. "I agree, but as much as I hate to admit it none of us are strong enough to take Ace down in a fight. Besides I can cut through a lot of things, but even I can't cut through fire."

Franky hummed while tapping the crook of his elbow. "Well then we'll need something for him to fight. Maybe a Sea King or-"

"Marines!" Nami shouted.

Everyone froze for just a second before running toward the bow of the boat. Ace stopped his pacing and grinned. "Perfect" He rushed along with the rest of the crew toward the front. Before the crew could figure out how to best handle the Marine fleet (which numbered around 35 good sized ships) Ace was already in the air yelling "Fire Fist!" smashing into the deck destroying the first of many.

"What an idiot." Nami muttered.

"Oh, let him have his fun," Robin smiled. "Besides we should be grateful those marines showed up, otherwise Ace might have killed us all in pent up anger. He was clearly just about ready to snap."

Nami turned to Robin with a serious expression. "When this is over I think we should have a discussion on whether or not Ace is fit to fight Blackbeard. Did you see his face? You could cut tension with a knife."

Before Robin could respond shouts of 'Watch out!' were heard as cannonballs began to sail toward the ship. Most were stopped by a swift kick from Sanji or a sword swipe from Zoro. The few that got past them were stopped by Chopper.

"Where are all of these cannonballs coming from?" Usopp asked no one in particular. "There hasn't been any cannon fire coming from the Marine Fleet."

Before anyone could protest the fact that maybe Ace's Fire Fist destroying ships might have drowned out cannon fire Robin spoke up. "He's right. I just put an ear on the ship all of the cannon balls are coming from and there is no cannon fire."

"Then how the hell are all these cannon balls coming at our ship?" A disgruntled Franky asked as he shot one down with a "Weapons Left" "I swear if they ding my new ship on her second day out at sea I will hurt whoever is sending them over here."

Robin began to put eyes on every ship that Ace had not destroyed and began to look around. She smiled slightly as one Marine spotted one of her many eyes and began to freak out. The young man (who looked like he had recently matured from boyhood) ran up to Robin's answer a large man with a dog-head covering and the shadow of a smile that surprisingly reminded her of Luffy was throwing cannonballs at ridiculous speeds.

"Sir we're being watched by eyes on the ship! And earlier I saw an ear!" The pink-haired being informed the dog-hooded man.

"Calm down Coby." The Vice Admiral commanded as he chucked another cannonball at the Going Sunny. "I'm trying to say hello to my grandson. In the meantime-"He continued pausing for a moment to point his finger at another ship being destroyed by Ace's Fire Fist. "Inform my other grandson that if he keeps destroying ships I will personally hold him responsible for paying for damages; not Whitebeard, him."

Robin, despite wanting to see more knew she needed to inform the rest of the crew what she had learned. Luffy and Ace's grandfather was a vice admiral and although she didn't see his face clearly she had a good idea as to who it was: Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp. She was honestly surprised that she didn't think of that sooner.

As she opened her eyes back in her real body she noticed the stares from Nami and Usopp. "Well, what's happening Robin?" They asked.

Robin merely shrugged her shoulders before responding. "Oh, nothing much; Luffy's grandfather is just saying hi."

"By shooting cannonballs at us?" Nami blanched.

"Actually he's throwing them."

There was a slight pause before Nami screamed. "That's even worse. Who can throw… Wait, what do you mean Luffy's grandfather?"

 **Line Break**

Ace slammed another fiery fist onto the deck of another ship effectively breaking it in half. Honestly the Marines needed better shipwrights if this was what they were building. "Maybe I should send them to Water 7," he mused to himself. That was when he noticed a pink-haired marine trying to get his attention; the marine looked young and was shaking in his boots. Ace couldn't help himself, he leapt off the burning remains of the ship he just destroyed onto the railing of the next ship where the young marine was shouting. "Hi," Ace greeted with a small wave.

Coby shook in his boots at being so close to such a strong pirate, but then he let out a steady breath, found his courage, and looked him straight in the eye. "The Vice Admiral told me to inform you that if you destroy any more ships he will hold you personally responsible."

Ace was amused by this. He could take on any vice admiral this side of the Red Line. "And who might that be?" He asked.

"Hello Ace," a familiar voice sounded.

Oh. Crap. Ace looked up before barely dodging a cannonball that was surely infused with Haki. "Damn it old man are you trying to kill me!" Ace yelled as he used his fire abilities to dodge yet another cannonball.

"You're a pirate and I'm a marine Ace. Now hold still so I can kill you- Eh, where are my cannonballs?" He asked a generic looking private.

"We ran out sir. You threw them all." The private responded with a salute.

Ace watched in amusement as several other marines were working to hide extra cannonballs in the storage hold below deck. 'Perhaps some of these marines are smarter than I give credit for' he thought to himself. That was when he felt a fist more powerful than any cannon slam him in the chest. "Damn that hurt like hell!"

"Pay attention boy!" Garp yelled. "Don't tell me you forgot our training." Garp had honestly grown tired of throwing cannonballs at his grandson; it was almost nostalgic to use his "Fist of Love" against him. He stood above Ace who was starting to get up and brush off his pants. "Well Ace, did you finally come to your senses and left Whitebeard to join the marines?"

"As if, you old geezer." Ace retorted as fire consumed his hand a grin spread across his face. Despite how annoying (and scary) he was, Ace was really glad to see Garp because he knew that his grandfather could take being punched by him and there was a part in him that wanted Garp to knock him around some for not being able to stop Blackbeard. Of course that didn't mean that Ace was going to make it easy for him.

 **Line Break**

Coby watched the fight hiding behind some crates along with Helmeppo who had been hiding ever since he spotted what he called "The Flaming Menace" destroy the first ship yelling "We're gonna die."

Coby watched fascinated as flame met Haki in a glorious explosion which made him shield his eyes. "Who is that?" He asked the shaking Helmeppo.

"You don't know?" Helmeppo asked incredulously. "That is 'Fire Fist Ace' second division commander of the Whitebeard pirates; very powerful and out of our league." He shook slightly.

"Did you know that he's related to Luffy?" Coby asked casually.

Helmeppo visibly blanched. "You mean that rubbery hellion that hit me?" He then paused. "Wait, how could you not know who he is and know that he is related to Luffy?"

Before Coby could answer, the crate in front of them burst into flames as Ace slammed into it at not quite full force for he had slowed the descent with heat. Slightly dazed by the splintering wood and intense heat Coby looked and saw that Helmeppo had taken the brunt of the attack and was currently on fire. Shit.

Unsure of what to do Coby reached out and grabbed Ace's shoulder which flared to life with heat. "What do you think you're doing?" Ace roared with a mixture of anger and confusion. "You'll get yourself killed trying to stop a battle between a pirate and marine."

Coby was undeterred by Ace's harsh words. In fact he was emboldened. He pointed to Helmeppo who was screaming in pain. "Help him." Coby demanded of the fire user.

Ace flinched very slightly as he saw the burning man. Being burned alive was a horrible way to go; it was how he lost Sabo. Ace reached out his palm and took in all of the fire off the burning man and into himself. "I hope your friend is alright. I've done all I can." Ace murmured softly.

Garp was quickly on the scene; Ace cued himself up for a fight, but found himself relaxing his stance when he saw Garp hold up his hand with an open palm. "Later," he then pointed to two soldiers. "Get him to the medical bay, the sooner those burns are treated the better." The two men nodded doing their best to put Helmeppo on the stretcher without hurting him too much. Helmeppo, to everyone's surprise only flinched at being handled, but everyone could see that he was fighting back tears to put on a brave face; it was quite admirable. Garp then looked to Coby and jerked a thumb in Ace's direction. "Make sure he doesn't go anywhere, I need to finish with him when I get back." He followed the privates toward the Med Bay.

Ace let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "He should be okay," he spoke to Coby directly. "Are you his friend?"

Coby gave a slight shrug of his shoulders. "I suppose you could… actually yes, we are friends," he finished with a light smile. "What about you, are you Luffy's brother?"

Ace gave a grin. "You know Luffy huh?"

Coby nodded sharply. "Yep, he saved me from Alvida and helped me follow my dream to become a Marine. In fact I… he fell asleep."

Coby looked around and noticed that for the most part he was alone on the deck. "Wouldn't be fair for me to capture him without letting him say goodbye to his brother first." He mused to himself under his breath. However, before he could even move towards Ace the young man shot up.

Ace looked toward Coby in confusion and slight hurt. "You weren't going to try to capture me while I was sleeping were you?"

Coby shook his head. "No I-"

"Because that wouldn't be very honorable"

"I agree, but-"

"And here I thought you were one of the very, very, very, few, minuscule even, marines that was good. Coby you disappoint me." He finished with a grin.

Coby stared at Ace for a brief moment before a grin came across his face. "You're a real piece of work… pirate."

"I'm the reason you have any work to begin with marine." Ace retorted.

Coby gave a medium laugh which died on his lips as he saw a large figure approaching.

"Having fun without me boys?" Garp had returned. He then pointed to Coby. "Helmeppo is in stable condition why don't you go visit him?" He then turned toward Ace who was trying to sneak away. "And where do you think you're going Ace? We have a battle to finish."

"No way Old Man, I'm out of here." Ace yelled as he prepared for flight turning his legs into fire, but his flight was cut short as a large hand grabbed him and slammed him against the deck of the warship.

"Don't think you can fly away from me that easy Ace." Garp snarled playfully as he slammed his fist onto the deck, for Ace had managed to wriggle out of his grandfather's powerful grasp with a torrent of flame.

Coby gave a sigh before looking toward a life boat. This fight could take a while; 'perhaps I should take the opportunity to see Luffy and Zoro' he thought to himself. He then began to walk toward the boat. The old Coby would never do something like this. He would have cowered in fear and retreated below deck the second Ace showed up, but thanks to Luffy and Garp he was becoming more and more brave. 'I have to see them and thank them. Find out how much closer he is to his dream, because he helped me with mine.' He then lowered the boat to the slightly churning water below and began to row.

 **LINE BREAK**

Several moments passed before the Straw Hats realized that cannonballs were no longer being thrown in their direction, but that didn't mean that they relaxed any. In fact they were tenser than before. Why had the cannonballs stopped coming? Did the marines run out? Where was Ace? Had he been captured?

"We should go after him," Nami said with worry. "Of course by that, I mean Zoro should go after him."

Zoro frowned crossing his arms. "I don't think so. Ace can handle himself just fine."

"No he can't," Nami argued with a slight hint of bite in her voice. "Zoro, you were there in Alabasta, so you know how close he and Luffy are. After the story we told him who knows what psychological damage there is."

Zoro tensed his shoulders for a moment before relaxing his posture. "Look, I'm not saying that Ace is in the best place in his mind, but that doesn't he can't fight. Hell I do some of my best fighting when I'm at a low point," he offered with a casual shrug. Then he felt everyone stare at him, and his posture became defensive again. "What?" He snapped.

"You just offered Nami comfort," Usopp stated slowly.

"I did not." Zoro responded curtly.

'Oh yes you did," Sanji responded with a laughing smile. Though he was slightly jealous, seeing Zoro become flustered over something that anyone else would consider trivial was too enjoyable to pass up.

Zoro turned slightly red as he heard soft giggles coming from Franky and Robin. Surprisingly the only ones that were quiet throughout the ordeal were Nami and Chopper. In fact speaking of Chopper, where was he?

"Guys there is a marine heading this way." Ah, there he was, standing on the port side of the ship looking out. Zoro mentally slapped himself, they had become distracted by frivolous things and there was a marine coming right toward them.

Everyone tensed slightly and ran toward port where Chopper was and looked over the side seeing a young marine rowing toward them in a small dingy. "He's insane," Nami pointed out. "Rowing toward a pirate ship in the Grand Line is just stupid."

"I hope he makes it," Chopper said in worry.

"You want him to make to the ship Chopper?" Robin asked curiously.

Chopper nodded in the affirmative. "Anyone who is willing to come to our ship in the Grand Line from a marine ship by themselves is very brave and we should at least give him the chance to meet us."

Usopp grinned. "Yeah and if he turns out bad, then Sanji here can kick his ass since we have just discovered that Zoro is a big softie."

Sanji laughed loudly and Zoro shot both him and Usopp a glare so intense it was like he was trying to bore holes into them. "I will murder both of you, slice you up and send you back from whence you came."

While Zoro chased Sanji and Usopp round the ship Robin walked right up to Nami. "Did Zoro's words give you comfort?" She asked the Navigator.

Nami gave a soft smile and nodded slightly. "Actually, he did in his own weird way."

Robin smiled. "Well I suppose I better find out what the young marine wants with us." And with that Robin closed her eyes in concentration and started forming a clone in the boy's boat.

 **LINE BREAK**

Despite his earlier bravado Coby was finding it more and more difficult to row a dingy from the Marine fleet to Luffy's new ship which he became more awed by the closer he got to it. 'I should have thought this though what was I thinking these waves are going to crash my boat'

At that a pair of eyes, ears, and a mouth appeared on the boat. "Ah you're the marine that is following us," a melodious voice chuckled.

Coby gave a small shriek before realization dawned on him. "Hey, you're those eyes that I saw earlier on the ship. Who are you?"

Before Coby knew it the simple face transformed into a full bust from the shoulders up. "Nico Robin, member of the Straw Hat pirates." She indicated with a slight bow of the head.

Coby gave a slight shudder then smiled. "You know, I've been on the Grand Line for several months and seeing people with Devil Fruit abilities still freaks me out."

Robin gave a quirk of the lips before returning to a more neutral expression. "So, why are you following us?"

"Oh, well I wanted to see Luffy again. See he helped me to become a marine. It has always been a dream of mine and Luffy gave me the push I needed."

Robin gave a smile at the boy's soft smile and expression. "Then let's meet you half way, I will have the ship come towards you, so be ready."

Coby gave a grateful smile. "Thank you Nico Robin, by the way my name is Coby."

Robin gave a slight nod indicating that she understood and left the small boat leaving Coby once again alone in the middle of the Grand Line between a pirate ship and a fleet of Marine ships.

 **LINE BREAK**

Robin returns to the deck with a smile as Zoro is still chasing Sanji and Usopp around the deck, Franky is at the helm looking at Robin awaiting what she had to say, Chopper and Nami were looking to her with equally wondering expressions.

"Well, did you take care of the Marine?" Nami asked.

"Actually I invited him aboard the ship."

This revelation caused Chopper to smile and Nami to ask "Why?" in a loud incredulous voice.

This only caused Robin to respond, "He's a friend of Luffy's." Of course Luffy has a friend in the Marines the others think in exasperation. "Now let's go meet Coby."

This causes Zoro to stop chasing Sanji and Zoro for a moment to look at Robin curiously. "Did you say Coby?" Robin nodded causing Zoro to grin and sheath his swords. "Well then let's go get him." The fact that Zoro also knew this marine caused the others to begin questioning how but Sanji and Usopp were just grateful that Zoro had stopped chasing them.

Franky smiled and began steering the Going Sunny toward the dingy. "We'll need to be careful, Robin could you put some eyes on the bottom of the ship so I don't accidentally run him over?" Robin affirms that she will and looks out for Coby. As they approach the Dingy guided by Franky's steady hand and Robin's watchful eyes Usopp and Zoro head back to meet Coby; Usopp to work the dock leveler and Zoro so that the young marine had a familiar face to see.

When Coby rises from the bottom of the deck Zoro is no less than shocked at what he sees. The boy who was formerly meek and constantly shaking was standing taller with a straight back and had an air of confidence around him despite being on a pirate ship. Zoro is honestly impressed; the marines were a good choice for him.

His genuine happiness for Coby is brought cashing down by a simple question. "Hey Zoro I'm happy to see you again. Now where's Luffy?"

 **LINE BREAK**

Garp dodges yet another kick to the head from his grandson. Despite his large size the old vice admiral is surprisingly agile and has not slowed down one bit in all of his years. When a captain under him asked why he hadn't retired yet Garp merely laughed saying that he would retire when he was dead. Garp had fought Ace many times on the Grand Line when he first started out as a pirate and at first his fighting style was wild and unrefined, like a child raised in the jungle. Then his fighting became more refined and precise after he ate the Flame Flame Fruit most likely due to how much the boy had to focus and practice to control such a fruit.

When he joined Whitebeard Garp had only seen his grandson a couple of times after that moment, due to his history with Whitebeard many of the higher-ups didn't want Garp anywhere near the pirate, so his fighting with Ace stopped for a long time and when he randomly found Ace near Fishman Island on the New World side he couldn't help himself and fought Ace with everything he had and Ace had defeated him handily. Garp couldn't have been more proud.

So it is with confusion and a bit of sadness that Garp lands yet another haki-infused punch to Ace's gut sending him careening to the crates that littered the deck from their fighting. Garp is certain that the boy is in pain as he has flinched several times holding his ribs which were probably cracked and Garp noticed that he was heavily favoring his right side which probably meant a broken bone in his left leg, or maybe it was just a sprain.

Flames encircle Ace as he sends yet another fiery tornado toward Garp who this time only barely manages to dodge out of the way leaving his coat singed with an ashen gray. He frowns, Sengoku is going to mad at him for ruining another vice admiral coat. His momentary distraction is enough for the fire-wielder to land a solid flame-filled punch to his grandfather's right side sending the large man over the edge of the boat. Luckily Garp has the sense to grasp the railing and haul himself up and over onto the deck.

"Ace, what is up with you? That punch should have had me careening out to the middle of the ocean; I thought you were a Whitebeard pirate. Hell, I bet even Luffy could beat you" Garp teased, hoping to get his grandson riled up, but instead it had the opposite effect. Ace's shoulders sagged, his eyes grew dim and he leaned dejectedly against the cabin. Well that was unexpected.

"Luffy…" Ace breathed out shakily.

This immediately set off alarm bells in Garp's brain. What happened to his precious grandson? He was going to kick his ass for becoming a pirate and drag him off that God forsaken pirate ship and make him into a marine. 300 Million Beli bounty be damned. "What happened to Luffy?" Garp demanded of Ace.

Ace looked his grandfather square in the eye as if searching for something that would tell the boy that no matter what Ace said, Garp would be strong enough and capable enough of making everything better. "Luffy has been taken by Blackbeard."

Garp had never been more confused in his life. Who was Blackbeard? Why did Ace know him? The only thing the vice admiral could do was tilt his head in confusion. This of course made Ace sigh and begin his story. "Well a few months ago…"

 **LINE BREAK**

"And that's pretty much what happened." Usopp summed up.

To say Coby was baffled was an understatement. After he had arrived on the boat Zoro had led him up to the deck and briefly introduced him to everyone. Surprised that Luffy had not come out of the woodwork Coby ha once again asked where his rubbery pirate friend was and then everyone got the same grim expression Zoro had and they each took turns telling an abridged set of events that occurred over the past 5 days.

Coby rubbed his bottom jaw thoughtfully. "Well if Blackbeard was taking Luffy to Marine headquarters then they would be arriving soon."

"How soon?" Robin asked curiously.

"Very, in fact I wouldn't be surprised if they arrived there now. Hell they probably got an escort. There's extra marine security 75 miles out from headquarters and Impel Down after the stunt you guys pulled at Enes Lobby." Coby responded with a slight frown. "You guys have been causing a lot of trouble."

This caused the Straw Hats to look at each other and smile. Too bad Luffy wasn't with them he would love to hear this kind of praise from a friend. It was then Nami who spoke. "Is there any way of knowing whether or not Luffy has been taken to Marine Headquarters now?" She asked.

Coby looked thoughtful for a moment and then a smile spread across his face. "Actually there is. Wait here for just a moment." He then proceeded to head toward his dingy and pulled out a baby Den Den Mushi. "This is a transponder snail that when activated can send out a signal to Marine Headquarters letting them know where a marine lost at sea is. It also gives up to date information about all sorts of things, which I am not at liberty to divulge, but I can say that it gives information on prisoner exchanges and bounties collected."

"So it's basically a private military radio." Robin concluded.

"Would be pretty helpful to a pirate. Might be able to sell it on the Black Market for a pretty penny." Sanji offered casually with a drag of a cigarette. This of course caused Nami to grin with Beli eyes and stare at the snail with greed.

"Don't even think about it witch." Zoro growled. "I'm not letting your greed get in the way of his dream. In fact he's risking a lot just by coming here and helping us."

Nami immediately lost the Belis in her eyes and her shoulders slightly slumped. He was right; Coby was risking a lot by doing this for them. "All right, let's find out if that idiot of ours has been taken into the marines."

 **LINE BREAK**

Garp paced the deck angrily, shoulders hunched and a grim expression on his face. Ace watched him for several moments, he had never seen his grandfather look so distressed, not even when he ran across him after joining Whitebeard. Finally Garp stopped and looked at Ace pointedly. "He's not at headquarters or Impel Down."

Ace frowned. "How do you know that?"

"Because I have an agreement that if either you or Luffy are taken in, I am to know immediately, no matter what." Garp replied. "Besides there is one thing I don't understand, if Blackbeard wanted to gain notoriety with the marines your head would be much more valuable, unless…"

Ace's eyes looked to Garp with suspicion. "Unless what?" He asked.

"Never mind, I need to make a phone call. In the mean time you need to get out of here." Garp waved his hand in dismissal.

Ace was slightly surprised. "You're letting me go?"

"Bring back my private and I can say in my report that it was a prisoner exchange." Garp countered. "And yes, I did know about Coby going to Luffy's ship. Boy won't stop talking about my grandson, plus there is a dingy missing." Garp noted.

Ace was honestly impressed. "Gee Grandpa when did you become so observant?" He asked.

Garp's eyes merely shadowed over. "Ace, I know you're worried about Luffy, but look at what he's accomplished. His spirit won't break so easily." Garp then gave a grin. "We won't let it."

Ace smiled and then flew off while Garp went to make a phone call.

 **LINE BREAK**

"…captured by Commander Scrap Iron, bounty 143 Million Belis" the broadcast concluded.

Coby turned off the radio and sighed. "Well…"

"He's not with the marines." Ace finished having landed on the railing. Everyone looked to the fire-user in surprise.

"Ace!"

"You're back."

Coby shot the young pyro a grin. "Your grandpa actually let you go."

Ace grinned. "Actually he called for a prisoner exchange."

Coby's shoulders slumped slightly. "I'm in trouble aren't I."

Ace shrugged his shoulders. "Who knows it's hard to tell with him. Either way we should probably get going so that we…" He gestured to all of the Straw Hats. "… can get out of here before the old geezer does something crazy and change his mind."

Coby nods before heading off with Ace, but Zoro stops him after noticing he had left the Den Den Mushi sitting on the deck. "Hey don't you want your snail?"

Coby shakes his head. "Keep it, it might help in your search for Luffy. Just keep it on channel 6 for the Bounty Broadcast and don't change it."

Zoro along with the rest of the crew nodded in agreement while Ace and Coby headed back to the ship in the dingy together. As it would only be considered a proper prisoner exchange if they were both there.

After being dropped off and sneaking Coby back onboard of the Marine warship in hopes that the boy wouldn't get into too much trouble, Ace returned to the Going Sunny without much resistance. "Let's get out of here, before my old man decides that it's better to bring me in than save Luffy," he piped in.

This of course caused the others to look to Ace in slight confusion. "You're grandfather, the vice admiral that took down the pirate king, is letting you, a notorious pirate go and helping us save Luffy?" Usopp asked questioningly.

Ace gave a noncommittal shrug. "I think so, but as I have said before it is difficult to tell with him. Either way we should get out of here."

Franky gave a grin. "Would you say that we need a quick get away?" Ace nodded in the affirmative. Franky rubbed his hands together in glee. "This is going to be fun. Be sure to hold onto something everyone, this ship is about to fly."

"I swear if we all wind up flying into the ocean again like last time you told us to something I will kick your ass to Skypea." Sanji glowered at the cyborg.

Franky began pouring barrels of cola into the tank. "Don't worry I'm 68% certain that nothing will happen. Most likely. Maybe."

"You don't sound too certain Franky." Usopp pointed out with a shaky voice that contained both fear and excitement.

"Well, only one way to find out. Coup de Burst!" He yelled. Everyone began screaming in joy and panic as the ship began to speed far away out of reach of the marines and Garp's craziness.

Once they were far away and could peel themselves off of the various items tha they held onto for dear life. Everything was unusually calm, and then Usopp asked the question that was on everyone's mind. If Luffy isn't with the Marines then where is he?


	6. Chapter 5: Speculations

**A/N: Now before you get on my case I did say that it might be out by late August. In all honestly though I have rewritten this chapter 5 times, and I'm not talking about edits here and there I mean completely rewritten, I have a general idea where the story will go and end, it's just difficult getting there, so please be patient with me as I write.**

Chapter 5: Speculations

"Are you sure?" Garp asked, his voice filled with a mixture of frustration and hope.

"Yes," the voice on the other end answered. "You know that I try to stay away from the territory of the four emperors ever since what happened 7 years ago."

Garp sighed raking his fingers across his face remembering the event. "Surely someone must've run into Whitebeard or one of his men. Dragon, I didn't want to tell you this but I need this information, Luffy is in danger."

The man on the other end stayed silent for a long moment before sighing. "I should've never picked up this call. Okay listen, several months ago, close to a year ago really, three of my agents sighted the Whitebeard's fourth division commander and several of his crewmates on Crossbones Island."

Garp drew in a breath. Although Crossbones was officially under Whitebeard's protection (his flag displayed proudly on the island) There were natives there that were reportedly so savage that even the most bloodthirsty of men steered clear of them. In fact most of the protection that Whitebeard provided for the citizens in the more civil areas was from war with the natives. The civilians never understood why Whitebeard never outright obliterated the natives and neither did Garp.

"What the Hell were your men doing on Crossbones! You know that island belongs to Whitebeard on one side and is filled with savages on the other!" Garp yelled in exasperation, and his grandkids thought that he was crazy, Garp was certain that if Luffy was raised by Dragon then the boy would have died several years ago. Though Garp and Dragon were very different in many ways one thing that was eerily similar was how invested they were for their cause. It was the reason Dragon gave Luffy to Garp to raise. The man had joked that if he raised Luffy he would surely want to be a marine but if Garp was to raise him surely he would want to be a pirate or maybe even a revolutionary.

Dragon uttered a low growl of frustration. "You know I can't tell you that. Hell I probably already told you too much already. Besides you know that I never know all of the details of a mission, so even if I wanted to I couldn't give you any details. " Another similar aspect of the two men was that even though they worked in areas that required the utmost secrecy and care they would sometimes let things slip that weren't supposed to slip.

Garp in took a sharp breath as he tried to calm himself down. "Look just let me speak to the agents that were on that mission."

Dragon seemed to be contemplating something before speaking again. "Was it the pariah that took Luffy?"

Garp felt something inside of him lurch. It wasn't until Dragon mentioned that special code phrase that it all came crashing in for Garp. Everything that Ace mentioned about Blackbeard or Marshal D. Teach told him that it could very well be the false D. of course Garp didn't want to worry his grandson with an old legend that was thought to be lost to time. "Yeah, I'm certain of it."

"So it begins." Dragon commented. "I'll see what I can do, but know this that Sabo is a very peculiar young man. He may not be willing to talk."

The name sounded so familiar and nagged at the back of Garp's mind, but before he could ask about it the snail had cut off indicating that his son had hung up on him. "No respect for your old man eh Dragon." Garp mused to himself. He then got up and brushed the soot that had settled on from his fight with Ace. "Now let me see what everyone is screaming about a flying ship for."

* * *

It had been several hours since the encounter with the Straw Hat pirate crew. Colby sat in a small wooden chair next to Helmeppo's bedside. At present moment they were enjoying each other's company in silence, Helmeppo had only woken up moments ago wide eyed and very frightened; Colby not wanting to be rude waited for his friend to calm down.

Finally Helmeppo spoke. "So how bad is the damage?"

Colby gave a small smile before speaking. "Not bad at all. In fact the doctors say that in a couple of months you will be completely healed if you take it easy."

At this revelation Helmeppo shot Colby a deadpanned look. "Have you forgotten whose ship we're on?" Colby laughed heartily while Helmeppo let out a loud sigh before continuing with a bit more humor in his voice. "Perhaps it is a good thing, for I can tell the others that I have gone toe to toe with the notorious Fire Fist Ace, with nothing but a small scar to show for it." His face then turned melancholy. "Of course no one on this ship likes me, not really. They only see me as the son of Axe Hand Morgan, a tyrant in the East Blue."

Colby felt something in his heart clench. Despite the written rule that if someone joined the marine ranks their heritage remained private from the common marine soldier and that they were judged based on their work ethic and character, not their past. That is as long as their past did not involve a bounty, which explained how low level pirates like those from the East Blue could get in. Sure it had been difficult at first to get along with the other marine soldiers, but they eventually warmed up to him. Helmeppo was not so lucky, one of the higher ups revealed that he was the son of Captain Morgan whom everyone hated. Even being apprenticed by Garp did not stop the sidelong and suspicious glances of the common marine.

That might have changed when they saw how he had reacted to being burned by Fire Fist Ace. Sure he had screamed "bloody murder" while he was engulfed in flames (who wouldn't), but when the flames were removed tears that have been on his face before were promptly wiped away and those that were fresh stayed in the ducts. He had held back those tears for several minutes until in the medical cabin he fell into unconsciousness, but his eyes remained dry. The rumor had spread and so many people from the ship came to see Helmeppo the first hour that the nurses had to enforce basically marshal law to get them to leave.

Colby was smiling at the thought but was unspeaking until brought out of his musings. "Hello… is anyone in there. Don't tell me that you're ignoring me now too."

Colby shook his head. "No, I think that you have earned the respect of everyone on this ship."

Helmeppo blushed slightly before muttering. "I don't deserve it, but enough about me, what happened while I was out? Did we capture any of the Straw Hats? Did you see that Swordsman? You know now that I think about it I might hate him more than that Rubber Hellion."

Colby's face fell and his voice became very small. "Luffy has been captured. Apparently one of Ace's crewmates went rogue that's why Ace is here and grabbed Luffy."

Helmeppo snorted. "No way that's true. No one on Whitebeards ship would be stupid enough to go rogue. Who did this? Who came here to Paradise to capture Straw Hat?"

"Blackbeard was the name that they told me."

Helmeppo waved his hand dismissively. "Never heard of him, besides if what you say is true and someone on Whitebeard's crew did go rogue why capture Straw Hat when you have Fire Fist Ace after you? I'll tell you why because this Blackbeard, what a stupid name is too weak to take him on." Here Helmeppo paused.

"I'm not too sure about that. Based on what I've heard Blackbeard is very strong and scary. He apparently can manipulate darkness itself."

Helmeppo frowned crossing his arms. "So the guy can make it dark huh? Oh pooh, I bet if I had that Devil Fruit I could take out Straw Hat too, he probably made it dark and the idiot punched himself in the face."

Colby despite everything found himself laughing hysterically, for he could picture such a thing happening. "Helmeppo you are amazing." Calming down and beginning to think about the situation again, Colby put on a brave face and smiled. He wasn't sure if Helmeppo was seriously this nonchalant about the situation or if he was putting on an act for his sake. However, there was something about the name Blackbeard and the power that he possessed that made Colby's stomach twist. "Are you sure that Luffy will be okay?"

Helmeppo beamed at the praise, before his voice softened. "I am being serious though; you've seen the same papers as I have. Straw Hat has ways of getting out of impossible situations. He'll be fine."

Colby smiled. "Yeah, you're probably right. He will be okay. After all he is going to be King of the Pirates."

At this the room suddenly became brighter and darker in less than a second of one another as a large figure stood in the doorway. "You better not be talking about my Grandson who is going to be a fine marine one day right?"

Colby gave an involuntary shudder. "H-Hey Garp," he greeted with a weak salute.

Garp gave an amused snort and grinned. "Well since Helmeppo will be out of commission for a few days I'll have to train you hard enough for both of you."

Helmeppo grinned slightly. "Work hard Colby," he waved.

"Colby muttered "Traitor," under his breath shuffling off with Garp for what was sure to be a hard night's training.

"Ah, chin up boy. We'll need to be strong. I'm not going to let some no name pirate be the death of my grandson. That's our job right?"

Colby grinned and garnered a spring in his step. "Right," he cheered.

* * *

A deep and reddish orange bled into the ever darkening sky as the sun sank lower into the western horizon. The Straw hat were eating peacefully on the deck, their troubles not forgotten but stored away at the present moment as they enjoyed a good meal prepared by Sanji. The chef had truly outdone himself and not one person complained, not even Zoro.

However, as the sky grew darker and the food began to settle, an ominous feeling began to take hold of everyone. Ever since escaping from Garp they had been listening to the den den mushi nonstop for any indication that Luffy had been turned over to the Marines, but none came. As far as Ace was concerned it made absolutely no sense. There wasn't any way for Blackbeard to get back to the New World without going through Fishman Island, and Ace was certain that Jimbei wouldn't let a traitor to Whitebeard as heinous as Blackbeard pass through his home land.

Another horrible thought crossed into his mind. What if Blackbeard was giving his brother as a gift to a Celestial Dragon in Sabaody? His brother would never survive as a slave, for it would mean that he was no longer free. However, wasn't Blackbeard a D.? Were D.s not the natural enemies of the Celestial Dragons? Once his true name was revealed wouldn't he be killed immediately? His head was hurting and the stress was getting to him so he promptly fell asleep.

Chopper immediately became worried and checked Ace's condition. Pulling out several pieces of medical equipment he checked his heartrate and blood pressure which seemed to be quite high. "He's stressed out," Chopper noted.

"Of course he's stressed," Nami sighed. "Did you see his face? He must've been thinking about something truly dreadful. Do you think the stress caused him to have a narcolepsy attack?"

"It could be that, or it could be the sleeping pills I slipped in his food." Sanji shrugged casually taking a drag of his cigarette.

Chopper of course was horrified. "Sanji, how could you? The sleeping pills could have adverse consequences on him. You should have asked my permission first."

"Sorry Chopper and though you are right in saying that I should have asked you, I do not regret what I did." Sanji stood his ground. "You've seen how he has been acting. Ace may be Luffy's brother, but he has been acting as a trapped wild animal ever since he heard about what happened to Luffy and the lack of information is making him crazy."

Chopper sighed. "Well I am still angry at you for not informing me about your plan, but it does seem to be helping, his blood pressure is starting to go down, just… please ask next time. I'm the doctor on this ship."

Sanji smiled and nodded his head in understanding. It was then that Franky spoke up. "Well what are we going to do? We've been very lucky not to run into any other marines but if we don't move away from this area soon our luck will run out."

Robin nodded grimly. "And with Ace on board they might very well send an admiral after us."

At this, Nami and Usopp turned white as sheets remembering how the last run-in with Admiral Aokiji turned out. "We're all going to die." Usopp managed to whisper and scream at the same time for he did not want to wake Ace up.

"We need to leave now, but…" Nami paused chewing the inside of her cheek thoughtfully. "If we press forward we won't be able to come back here. Ace might if he has an eternal pose to a previous island, but I'm not sure if even he can take on all the power of the marines by himself."

Surprisingly it was Usopp who spoke up next. "Then we should stay here until Ace wakes up, lest we risk his wrath." He finished with an exaggerated voice indicating doom.

Franky frowned. "I kind of agree with Usopp, but for a different reason. Based on how Brother Usopp described the boat they were in it wouldn't be able to travel as fast as we can so perhaps they have not run into the marines."

Sanji frowned. "But didn't Colby say that the marines were patrolling the waters more fervently. Surely they would have run into marines by now." His frown deepened as he rubbed his chin in thought, as one does when they are on the brink of revelation. "In fact am I the only one who finds it odd that we haven't run into any marines despite the fact that it's been hours since our fight with Garp's fleet."

Everyone garnered a thoughtful expression. It was a strange thing that they had not run into any marines since their fight with Garp. Sure they had experience in avoiding marines in open waters, but this was marine territory.

Zoro tapped the crook of his elbow in frustration. As much as he hated to admit it the cook was right. Something was very wrong, but in what way he could not quite describe. Perhaps it was the darkening sky combined with being in enemy waters but Zoro began feeling a bit on edge. He liked things being simple, but this entire situation was complex and Luffy, bless that idiot, wasn't there to simplify everything. It was then that he noticed that everyone was staring at him. "What?"

"Well what do you think we should do Zoro?" Robin asked her voice tight as the smile on her face.

Zoro blinked. "The hell are you asking me for?"

Sanji sighed. "Because idiot, you're Luffy's first mate and as much as I hate to admit it, that means you're technically in charge." Everyone else nodded in agreement to what Sanji was saying.

"Why do you think I'm here now?" Usopp asked quietly. "I've been hearing bits and pieces of your conversations about me in Water 7. Am I wrong in saying that if you didn't agree to it I wouldn't be on this ship right now?"

Zoro was beginning to feel surprisingly anxious, his breathing became shallow. Having so much responsibility on his shoulders was more than he could bear. He didn't show weakness of course, for it wasn't in his nature, but still. "Calm down." The voice shocked him and he spun around, Ace had woken up.

"How the hell are you awake? The sleeping pills I gave you should have knocked you out for at least six hours" Sanji asked surprised.

Ace shrugged his shoulders. "I take some pretty strong sleeping pills to help with my narcolepsy. The ones that you mixed in my food probably weren't powerful enough to knock me out for long." He then grinned. "But I have to thank you, I feel much better than before."

Zoro sighed in relief, glad that Ace was awake. "Do you think we should press forward or hang back?"

Ace smiled softly leaning against the rail. "What are you asking me for? I'm not the one in charge, you are." A frown then came across his face. "Take it from someone who went from leading a small crew of about 12 to a commander in charge of close to 250 men it can be overwhelming, but someone has to lead."

Zoro frowned crossing his arms. "Doesn't mean I have to like it."

Ace laughed. "Of course not, but there is an old saying that says 'Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them.' Think about this as an opportunity to prove your greatness."

Zoro pondered Ace's words carefully. He then stole a glance at his other crewmates who were watching him expectantly. It was then that everything became clear to him. He wasn't simply in charge because he was Luffy's first mate (okay that may have been the technical reason), but it was more than that. He was the one that could best protect the crew not necessarily from enemies but from themselves. He was the most decisive of the entire group and he therefore could make the difficult decisions necessary when it came to the safety of the crew.

"Alright, here's what we are going to do." He finally spoke up with confidence to the others. "We are going to press forward, for two reasons." He held up his hand extending his fingers. "One, if Blackbeard has decided to move forward then we need to stop wasting time and press on and two, I hate to admit it but we are not prepared to take on an admiral, much less the entire Marine Force. Even with Ace here we won't make it out alive. We'll need allies."

To say that everyone was shocked would be an understatement. Zoro never admitted to needing help from others even if it was hypothetical. After the initial shock, Robin spoke up. "Well then Ms. Navigator will you set a course for us."

Nami nodded slowly. "Y-yes, the log pose is set for Fishman Island, according to Kokoro we'll have to go through the Florian Triangle."

At this revelation Ace perked up. "Did you say the Florian Triangle?" Nami nodded. "Interesting, while looking into the Devil Fruit that Blackbeard stole I came across a legend claiming that many years ago someone with a power that was similar to the power granted by the Dark Dark Fruit created the Florian Triangle. We might find Blackbeard there or at least a clue to defeating him."

Thus the course was set for Fishman Island. As that was where their Log pose was pointing and as anyone who sailed the Grand Line would tell you. Never stray from your log pose lest you be lost to wandering the sea forever.

* * *

Luffy leaned against the stern of the boat they were on, wishing that his crew would hurry up and get him. The longer he stayed with Blackbeard and his crew the less he liked them; especially Blackbeard.

There wasn't anything wrong with the way he was being treated. The man with the monocle made sure that he was well fed (though the food was not nearly as good as Sanji's), the man with the wresting mask told jokes that mostly flew over Luffy's head (though to be fair no one laughed at his jokes), and the one with the top hat would tell stories about the people he murdered through hypnotism (Which Luffy found either boring or distasteful).

Blackbeard however only watched him and that made Luffy uncomfortable beyond measure. It wasn't just his Devil Fruit that made Luffy nervous, but the man himself. There was something inherently wrong with him in a way that Luffy couldn't explain to anyone. When he spoke about the dreams of pirates there was something underlying that Luffy could not describe, like a bit of deadly poison that you couldn't taste in your food.

Luffy was brought out of his musings by Blackbeard speaking. "We're here," he laughed.

Immediately the stars that shined brightly in the sky were covered by a deep impenetrable fog that swallowed and choked everything that entered into it. Yet Luffy was not as afraid as he felt he should be. After all wasn't Blackbeard in his element here in the darkness? Blackbeard frowned; he must've noticed it too. "There is a hope here, one that has been here for years." He then grinned. "But it is weakening, we should snuff it out."

Luffy watched as the other crewmates looked to each other in confusion. "But, where do we go?"

"Follow the song," Blackbeard laughed. That was when they heard it a voice that was hauntingly beautiful as it sang. It was also familiar as it was an old sea shanty passed down through the generations of people who have sailed the seas: Bink's Sake.


	7. Chapter 6: Bit by Bit

**A/N: Not much to say on this chapter. There is a little gore in the last section but nothing really descriptive so it should be fine. Just to let y'all know I'm putting this story on a brief hiatus. Now before you panic, by hiatus I mean I'm going to work on a couple of one shots and short stories that have been brewing in my mind for a while, and I think that writing them down will help me focus more on this story.**

Chapter 6: Bit by Bit

The galleon before them was huge, certainly the biggest ship that Luffy had ever seen, and to make it even better the ship was singing! The young captain practically had stars in his eyes as he listened to the haunting melody come from the ship. He was brought out of being star-struck by boisterous laughter.

"Zehahaha, I wonder who is singing on such an old ship." Blackbeard mused out loud. Wait, someone was singing on the ship? Well that was slightly disappointing; but, no matter! Luffy had been looking for a musician forever and he was determined to make whoever was singing on the ship his, but how? With his wrists bound by Sea Prism handcuffs his powers were null and void and he himself was feeling slightly dizzy and cationic, because even though they may have been feeding him enough for a normal person as a D. Luffy's appetite was not normal.

"You want to get up there don't you?" Augur asked Luffy; said rubber boy was bought out of his silent wonderings by the monocled sharpshooter's question. After giving no indication of one way or the other Augur gave a sigh. "Well our captain wants you see who's up there and kill him. Of course none of us trust you enough to remove your Sea Prism cuffs, so you're just going to have to make due."

Luffy of course was thoroughly confused. He shot Blackbeard a quizzical look and the man merely grinned with menace. Luffy's confusion quickly morphed to anger as he began to think what was asked of him, but before he could offer any kind of retort he felt himself being lifted up by strong arms of Jesus Burgess and thrust up and over on top of the galleon.

When Luffy hit the deck he hit it hard. Damn not being made of rubber was a literal pain in the ass. Luckily he has always been rather flexible, so he was able to get up rather easily despite being bound. At this point most would begin to speculate why an enemy of theirs would ask them to kill someone that none of them could even see, of course as stated before Luffy was not normal. He couldn't help but gaze around the massive and ancient ship, sure it wasn't quite as old as the ship that fell from Skypeia but that didn't change the fact that it was neat. Luffy curiously ran his fingers across the rail which was filled with rot and decay from the fog. His head then popped up when the sound of song that filled his ears before stopped. He looked around wondering why the singing had stopped. His eyes rested on a very thin frame with a suit that was only slightly too big, but the thing that caught Luffy's eye the most was the impressive afro.

"Hey! Why'd you stop singing?" Luffy asked with an absolute lack of tact. The figure slowly lowered his arm and turned to look at Luffy. What the captain saw shocked him, a skeleton. This was- this was- AWESOME! A singing skeleton was much better and cooler than a singing ship. So with Luffy fashion he bound over and asked one of the most important questions of his generation. "Do you poop?"

The skeleton offered his hand toward the boy, unperturbed by the question answering, "my name is Brook and yes I do I poop."

Luffy beamed in absolute delight. "Hey skeleton, join my crew." Luffy demanded.

"Brook," the skeleton corrected. "And I would love to join your crew, unfortunately I must stay here." Luffy pouted, but before he could protest Brook continued. "You see I've had my shadow stolen and put inside of the zombie of a samurai from Wano, if my body touches sunlight I will evaporate."

Luffy of course did not really care about the little details all he cared about was the fact that someone took his crewmates shadow that meant he had to beat someone up. "Who stole your shadow?" He demanded. "I need to beat him up."

"The Warlord Gecko Moria; but Luffy, how are you going to beat him up when you are bound?" He asked pointing out the Sea Prism cuffs around his wrists.

"Oops I forgot." Luffy laughed with a smile. "Stupid Blackbeard, can you help me get them off."

Brook sighed. "Seems like you are going to be a bit of trouble, but I'll see what I can do." He gestured for Luffy to come closer. The rubber boy bound over closer with a wide grin on his face, happy that he would be getting out of these accursed cuffs soon. "Now you must be patient, though I'm quite proficient at picking locks', being a devil fruit user myself it is going to be draining."

As Brook began to work at the cuffs with a small bone pulled from his left hand, Luffy began to tap his foot in a somewhat rhythmic fashion and began to hum a silly tune. Brook could not help but sing along and it helped him get through the drain of touching Sea Prism and work faster. Within seven minutes the cuffs were off and on the ground. Luffy celebrated by stretching his arms as far as they could go up in the air, yelling in absolute ecstasy.

"Yeah, now let's go beat up the guy that stole your shadow!"

"Moria," Brook offered. "And though I have quite the bone to pick with him (skull joke) we have no rudder and therefore no way to steer this ship, so we'll have to take yours, but where is your ship?" Brook asked looking around.

"Ahh I forgot, I've been stolen from my crew!" Luffy yelled out. "Sorry Brook, but I've gotta kick Blackbeard's ass first."

Brook drew a long thin sword that was resting on his hip. "Then allow The Humming Swordsman to assist you."

Both fled toward the port side of the ship and peered over the edge. There was no one there and the sky seemed to be getting darker. Brook who had spent over 50 years in the Florian Triangle had never seen it this dark despite the ancient legend behind its creation. A slight twinge of fear began to take hold of Brook and it seemed to be even affecting the young rubbery captain who just moments before was ready to leap into something unknown just for him.

Brook took a deep breath (despite his lack of lungs) steeling himself and placed a what he thought was a calming hand on Luffy's shoulder as the sky grew even darker. The boy snapped at the touch and it took all of Brook's reflexes to dodge the rubbery punch. "Luffy what is wrong?" Brook asked in alarm. The question however, seemed to go right over the boy's head as another punch came towards him. This time Brook was ready and leapt onto the boy's outstretched arm and ran toward him sword drawn slicing a small cut across his chest. He had hoped that the small bit of pain would snap Luffy out of his rage but it only made him angrier and the sky grew darker still.

Seeing as how pain didn't work Brook tried a bit of humor. "You know, as a swordsman I am quite skilled at disarming my opponent, but I didn't think I would have to do something so literal." Though it helped Brook calm down as a good joke always does Luffy continued to attack. However Brook noticed that there was absolutely no finesse to his attacks. Of course not knowing Luffy he wasn't sure how the boy fought; though one thing that Brook did know was that the look in Luffy's eyes wasn't right. What were one bright and warm eyes were now glazed and seemed more dead than his own (not that he had eyes)

"Luffy please snap out of it," Brook now begged with fear. "I don't know what's wrong." The sky continued to darken, but this did not hinder Brook too much as he hadn't used light to see in over 50 years to see. He began to wonder if there was a correlation between the increasing darkness and Luffy's demeanor. Brook continued to dodge Luffy's attacks which although did not seem to increase in accuracy increased in raw ferocity and speed, it was only a matter of time before it happened and it did. Luffy slammed his fist into Brook's frame and he was sent flying over the rails. At this point the darkness began to break.

Luffy's eyes began to receive their regular life and brightness and he began to breathe heavy looking around in panic. What happened? He wondered. The galleon deck was now almost completely destroyed; bits of splintered wood in his fists told him that he was the one that attacked the ship. Brook his new musician was missing. "Brook where are you!" He shouted out trying to find him. With no answer Luffy's panic increased. Had something happened to Brook? He looked at his arms and chest which were covered in small cuts. Had something happened to him?

He tried to reach into the deep recesses of his mind, to find something anything that would help him remember what had just occurred. Sure he could be a bit hard of remembering sometimes but this was ridiculous. He remembered wanting to beat up some Warlord and then Blackbeard- Ah, wait Blackbeard was missing too. Luffy looked around there was no one there. The darkness seemed to come back full force. He was completely alone. It nudged his mind. He didn't know where his crew was. It snaked its way in. He was falling into darkness, but he wouldn't fall completely.

A sound brought him out. A loud groaning sound that was sad and rang so loud. It was coming from something absolutely enormous that could only be an island. "Maybe Brook is there." Luffy proclaimed out loud. Such a loud and hopeful declaration drove the darkness back. Luffy grabbed ahold of the railing having faith that despite its rot that it would hold and launched himself toward the island.

* * *

Colby was certain that Garp was trying to break his spine. There was absolutely no way that he could carry 600 pounds of flour on his back while squatting low to get through a tunnel. This was torture, but he knew not to complain. Any hint would mean another 25 pound sack added to his back. People who didn't work directly Garp but trained under him in their younger days looked at him with sympathy but offered no words of encouragement as they were afraid of alerting Garp to their presence and they too would suffer under Garp's training.

Garp was being especially strict with Colby's training, but he didn't mind it despite the pain Colby would get through it. It had been a week since their confrontation with Ace and the Straw Hat crew and there was still no word what happened to them after their escape. Of course Garp couldn't keep the fact that he fought against the Straw Hats secret. This information didn't change anything about the formations but when Garp casually mentioned fighting his hot-headed grandson, Sengoku knew he was talking about Ace and demanded which way they went. Of course Garp only pointed in a random direction and every ship was sent that way to catch them, it didn't matter that Garp didn't actually see where they went.

Colby didn't know if Garp was really dense or brilliant and fond of his family. One thing he did know was that Garp was passionate so he wasn't surprised when the man increased his training after he learned that Luffy was missing. What he didn't understand completely was why it wasn't reported. Sure, Luffy was a wanted pirate, but the fact that there was a turncoat on Whitebeard's ship which boasted probably the most loyal crew in the world that took him would be something the marines would be interested in, right? The problem was that there was no information on Blackbeard or Marshal D. Teach as Garp had told him, he didn't tell him all of the details, but Colby knew enough to do some research, and there was nothing. No bounties, no birth records, nothing. It was like the man didn't exist.

There was a tiny part of Colby for a brief moment that thought of contacting Whitebeard to find out more information, but he quickly dismissed this idea as he had no way of contacting Whitebeard and even if he did he wasn't sure if even Garp would be able to protect him from getting court marshalled. Garp had told him to focus on his training and that he was waiting on a call from someone that might have more information, but it had been a week and Luffy was still missing. After all his crew would contact him if he was found right?

"Good job Colby." Garp's praise had brought him out of his thinking as he looked up and realized that he was at the finish line. He was then patted on the back and Garp laughed. "Bit by bit you are getting stronger. If that dumbass grandson of mine insists on being Pirate King then Colby would have to be strong enough to knock some sense into him." Colby beamed with pride, but before he could offer any words of gratitude the familiar ring of the den den mushi rang out. "Ah, that's my idiot son. Run another 200 laps and I'll be back to check your progress." Colby deflated slightly and began to run.

* * *

Garp took the snail eagerly before calming himself. He knew that it was his son calling because this den den mushi was specifically for calls from him. It had only rung once before, but that was a long time ago. Taking a deep breath he answered the phone with dignity and grace.

"DRAGON YOU PIECE OF SHIT, HOW LONG DID YOU PLAN ON KEEPING ME WAITING HUH?!"

There was a short spell of silence on the other end before the voice which was definitely not the voice of his son began speaking. "Dragon, are you sure you want me to tell this guy about the Cross Bones mission?"

Garp took in a deep breath. "Who are you?" He asked.

The voice on the other end became more guarded. "Your informant," the voice answered. "Now listen to me, I am only doing this as a favor to my boss and for the interest of the Revolutionaries. I am only going to give you the information that I deem necessary for you to know. Do not interrupt me at any point or I will hang up this call and you will never hear my voice again, understood?"

Garp grinned. Though he was furious at this young man's tone he knew that the voice at the other end didn't even have to help, the fact that he was told Garp that any information given to him would be true. "All right you disrespectful shit, we'll play your game."

The snail grinned and quickly obtained a more neutral expression. "Based on what I know, based on what I have seen, my advice to you is to wait for Blackbeard to come to you."

There was a pause and when the voice didn't continue Garp spoke up. "What kind of information is that? What about his powers, how to defeat him? What about your trip to Crossbones?"

The snail sighed. "So many questions, none of which you need the answers to by the way. Look at this point there isn't anything you can do, but Blackbeard will return, that you can count on."

"How do you know that?" Garp asked. "How could you possibly know that?"

"Isn't the government looking for a new Warlord?"

Garp frowned. "Is that what Blackbeard is after? A position in the government?"

The snail gave a grim smile. "If only it was that simple. No I'm certain that because of the fruit he stole, he is right now in the Florian Triangle gaining strength beyond measure, and he is corrupting your grandson. Just be happy that he won't be able to get to the New World to Crossbones island, at least for a while."

"And why is that?" Garp asked. "Wait, how is he going to corrupt my grandson? Why is he going to corrupt my grandson?"

"Because, the Florian Triangle is only an artificial darkness. It will give Blackbeard great strength and influence. Enough to gain the Warlord seat and enough freedom to do whatever he wants. As for the influence over your grandson, well he is going to need someone on the inside of Impel Down to find more powerful members for his crew, right?"

Garp blinked, and then hummed in thought. "Well, luckily for us I have another grandson who is willing to go after that dumbass, ah hopefully he doesn't get himself killed."

The voice on the other end seemed genuinely surprised. "Monkey D. Luffy has a brother?"

Garp gave a slight chuckle and then his eyes grew sad in remembrance. "Actually, he had two."

The snail hummed. "Well, I truly hope things work out for them, it would be horrible for either of them to lose the other."

Garp smiled genuinely touched by the words coming from the other side. "Yes it would." The snail clicked indicating that it had been hung up. "Well, I'm not sure what you are doing there with that stupid son of mine, but I hope you remember your true family soon. May you one day return to your brothers, Sabo."

* * *

Zoro leaned against the mast with a thoughtful expression on his face. Things had been going unusually smooth ever since their little run-in with Garp, not only had they not run into any marines when escaping what Usopp had dubbed the "Triangle of Terror" but the weather had been calm with a gentle yet consistent breeze blowing them toward their destination. Things never went this smoothly before, and though the rest of the crew was anxious, there was a slight feeling in the air of complacency.

"Something isn't right." He finally spoke up.

Everyone looked at him in slight surprise. "What are you talking about? Everything is right." Nami pointed out.

"Ooh, this isn't good." Usopp grimaced. "Usually when everything is going right it means something horrible is going to happen."

Sanji frowned. "Usopp's right and so is the shitty Moss-head. Something bad is going to happen. I can feel it."

Ace gave a light chuckle and looked to Robin. "Guess my little brother's crew isn't used to peace and quiet."

Robin smiled. "It's never peaceful with Luffy, but it's always fun. You seem to be at peace though."

Ace gave a small laugh. "Trust me, I am freaking out on the inside, but I know you guys are relying on me to stay calm. Fighting with Gramps and having an established chain of command on the ship calms my nerves greatly. It lets me know that when all of this is over and we get Luffy back he will be in good hands."

Robin sighed happily, it was good to know that Ace trusted them, even though they couldn't save their captain from Blackbeard before. She knew that he was right though. In the future, they would be more careful and protect their captain better. She was brought out of her musings by Franky's mutterings.

"I don't get it we should have caught up to them by now." Franky rubbed his chin in thought. Everyone else's conversations stopped and they all looked to the cyborg who continued. "The Thousand Sunny can travel much faster than any ship that Blackbeard could have stolen or have, how have we not caught up to them yet."

Ace frowned. "That's actually something that I have been wondering myself for months. Striker can move very fast, and yet Blackbeard always seems to stay ahead of me. Whenever I would stop at an island where Blackbeard was rumored to be he would have already been there for a week and left. It was always one week. Never more or less."

Nami frowned at Ace's statement. "If what you are saying is true then Blackbeard may be gone by the time we reach the Florian Triangle. We'll never catch up to him and he will keep getting stronger."

"Don't say such things." Zoro admonished the young navigator. "We WILL get Luffy back and Ace WILL kick Blackbeard's ass."

"Wait, so we're not fighting Blackbeard?" Usopp asked, his voice brushed with relief. "Any particular reason why? Not that I'm disappointed or anything but…"

Zoro jerked a thumb towards Ace. "Blackbeard is his fight not ours. I refuse to interfere or let any of you interfere either and I know Luffy would agree. However," A smile with a hint of malice touched his face. "The rest of his crew is fair game."

Relief washed over the full crew, though some were more relieved than others and some were even a bit disappointed, they were all just glad to be fully on the same page about this. The only being on the ship that didn't seem to have an opinion on the matter was Chopper, in fact the little deer seemed to be tense and have his fur bristled on end making him look bigger and poised to attack. Noticing this Sanji hesitantly walk over to the little deer.

"Don't worry too much Chopper," Sanji offered as words of comfort while taking a drag of his cigarette. "I know you've had a tough time with Blackbeard's crew but we'll all be here to back you up this time."

"He's here." Chopper's voice was low and had the slight hint of a growl to it. Sanji raised a single eyebrow in confusion waiting for the reindeer to clarify. "Blackbeard is here."

"Shit!" Sanji swore, though he couldn't see Blackbeard himself that was no reason to doubt Chopper's instinct. "Everyone, Blackbeard is close!"

The rest of the crew perked up, they along with Ace rushed over to where Chopper and Sanji stood brandishing different weapons ready to attack or defend themselves. Even Nami and Usopp were poised to fight if needed. The only one not currently at the forefront was Franky as he was preparing the different weapons aboard the ship to prepare for a fight. "Ace bro, I've got Striker ready for you to ship out!" Franky called. Ace gave a single nod confirming that he had heard the cyborg.

Precious seconds which felt like hours ticked by; nothing happened. "Chopper, where is Blackbeard?" Zoro asked. Though he did not doubt that the reindeer could sense him the fact that no one else seemed to be able to see him including Ace was both puzzling and worrisome. Chopper only bristled more giving a more feral growl that no one knew was possible. "Chopper, are you alright?" Zoro asked his voice slow and hinted with purpose. Robin nodded once indicating that without words she knew what he wanted her to do. "Everyone get away from Chopper!" Zoro yelled.

The Straw Hats scattered themselves away still looking out for Blackbeard, even Ace decided to step away, besides they could handle their own crew. Chopper snapped, and began to kick and thrash wildly. "Robin NOW!" Zoro yelled.

"Ocho Manos!" Robin cried out crossing her arms. Eight arms sprouted from the deck grabbing Chopper's hooves. The reindeer continued to buck wildly and it took Robin's full concentration to keep him in her grasp. "I could use some help." She grimaced making more hands appear wrapping themselves around Chopper hoping the pressure would calm him down.

"I've got him," Ace volunteered. Though he wasn't originally planning on getting involved, he knew that he was the only one on the boat that could calm the doctor down without getting gored by accident. He approached slowly as to not scare the good doctor. "Hey Chopper, how are you feeling?" The reindeer only saw red and continued bucking wildly. Robin, despite the pain kept a tight grip refusing to let go. Ace continued to approach letting intense heat radiate from him, the effect is almost immediate. Chopper, begins to get dizzy and fall over panting, despite this he never loses the crazed look in his eyes.

Nami shook her head with worry. "I don't understand, why is Chopper going crazy?"

Her wonderings were not ignored per say by the rest of the crew members, but with Chopper not bucking wildly about anymore, they could concentrate on trying to find Blackbeard, despite how the reindeer was acting or perhaps because of it they were more certain than ever that Blackbeard was close. Zoro and Sanji continued scanning the sea, Franky and Usopp did the same while waiting at the various weapons ready to fire at any moment. Robin continued to hold Chopper, grateful that Ace was giving off enough heat that the he would be unable to hurt her and she too could concentrate a bit more on finding Blackbeard, putting ears and eyes around the ship in case someone tried to sneak aboard.

Time continued to drag on, yet no one let up on their concentration to find Blackbeard. That was until Chopper finally stopped struggling completely and uttered a single word, "Luffy" Robin and Ace spared a quick glance at each other, Ace quickly reined in the heat he had been giving off and Robin let him go completely kneeling beside the reindeer whose panting had become quite shallow. She began to rub Chopper's side which was quite warm from the heat, trying to offer soothing words.

Nami also approached Chopper carrying a small hand towel soaked in fresh water, though she was a bit hesitant to get as close as Robin was. Sensing the navigator's discomfort Robin reached out a hand and grabbed the towel wrapping it around the young reindeer's neck cooling him down significantly. "Why do you think he just stopped?" Nami asked, looking at Chopper with a slightly wary expression.

"I'm honestly not sure," Robin offered with a slight frown on her face. "It might be due the heat Ace had been giving off, it may have overwhelmed him to the point of passing out. However, we should still be careful, we don't know what his mental state is."

While Nami and Robin were focused on their crewmate's wellbeing, Ace was wondering about why the little deer called his little brother's name. "What can you see that we can't," he mumbled thoughtfully to himself. He began to focus, forcing himself to relax sending out waves of observation haki, but this time instead of looking for Blackbeard as he had been doing before, he searched for Luffy.

The effect was immediate. A feeling like the one that was emanating from Chopper earlier hit him like a brick wall. Only it was darker, wilder, and much more intense. It was coming from the stern of the ship; Ace whipped around and began to run crying out "Luffy!" The rest of the crew (excluding Chopper who was still too sick to move) ran after Ace calling out to him with various levels of confusion; but Ace ignored them paying attention only to the feeling that was emanating from the direction he was running to, for if he had paid the rest of the Straw Hats any mind he would have told them to stay away.

For there stood his little brother on the very edge of the stern, performing a seemingly impossible balancing act, especially when his left arm seemed to be dangling out of view over the side of the ship. His entire face was downcast and shadowed by his treasured straw hat. The eerie calmness of his physical being contrasted starkly with the feeling to manic that oozed off of him. It was for this reason that Ace held out his hand stopping the rest of the crew from rushing their captain, there were of course mutters of protest until Zoro took a closer look calming down from his initial joy upon seeing Luffy relatively unharmed and immediately became guarded.

He held up a hand. "Wait," he ordered. The rest of the crew stopped and took another look, Zoro shared a quick glance toward Ace who nodded back in understanding. They both approached Luffy slowly like one would a trapped animal. Robin and Sanji shared concerned looks while Nami Usopp and Franky were anxious and confused. "Good to have you back captain." Zoro spoke up, redirecting the crew's attention back to him.

"I've been worried about you little brother," Ace was second to speak. "How did you escape from Teach?"

There was a moment of silence and then Luffy spoke. "Escaped? What are you talking about? I was let go." He then looked up, his eyes were a maelstrom and yet flecks of eerie calm shined through. His maw was stretched wide into a creepy grin that made many aboard the Thousand Sunny shudder slightly. He then gave a hollow laugh. "I've gotten stronger while I've been away everyone. Look I even defeated another Warlord." He then pulled up his left arm which gave an audible snap revealing what appeared to be a severed head.

The reaction of the crewmembers was mixed to say the least. Nami ran over to the edge boat throwing up, Usopp screamed, Sanji and Franky swore, and Robin trembled ever so slightly. The only ones that were at least visibly unaffected by the site were Zoro and Ace. Not looking away from Luffy Zoro leaned over to Ace asking, "Who is that?"

"Gecko Moria," Ace answered shortly. He then spoke to Luffy directly. "Luffy, where is Blackbeard?"

The grin fell away from Luffy's face and a pout appeared. "Stingy Ace, still on about that." The grin returned. "I see all of my friends here except Chopper, where is he?" He then jumped fully onto the stern, his feet firmly planted on the deck. "Oi, Chopper where are you?" He called out. "Oh, wait I have an idea." He stretched his head up high in the air, the rest of the crew expected him to say something about Chopper but instead… "Oh, wait a minute, this is a new ship."

Everyone fell onto the deck before quickly springing back up. "You just noticed that!" They all yelled at once. Honestly, even though he was creepy and carrying around the severed head of a Warlord (when was he going to get rid of that thing) Luffy was still an idiot. Luffy seemed to almost laugh amused by everyone's antics, which caused great confusion. Just what was going on with their captain.

"Ah, there you are Chopper, what are you doing sleeping on the deck?" The sudden change of subject caused everyone to get whiplash, and worry. With Luffy's and Chopper's respective states of instability they might accidentally hurt each other. Luffy's head snapped back and he grabbed the mast.

"Shit we have to stop them!" Zoro swore and ordered at the same time. Chaos ensued. Ace jumped to grab Luffy while the rest of the crew ran to the bow of the ship to move and if necessary protect Chopper.

Ace who had wrestled and defeated Luffy hundreds (thousands) of times before was able to easily subdue his younger brother who struggled violently in Ace's grasp. "Struggle all you want Luffy, you know you can't beat me." His voice then softened slightly. "What has happened to you little brother?"

In the meanwhile, Chopper seemed to be getting worse than when they left him. "I should have never left his side," Robin admonished herself. "He seems so sick." The little reindeer, breathing seemed to be even shallower and his heartbeat was shallow and wobbly.

"It's not your fault dear Robin," Sanji answered though his tone was gentler and less goofy than it normally was when addressing her. He was almost about to take another drag of his cigarette, when he decided to snuff it out instead. Despite the stressful situation, even he knew smoking now probably wasn't the best idea. "Still, it's strange how Luffy just showed up. Chopper didn't say anything about Luffy, but he did mention Blackbeard."

The name seemed to trigger something in Chopper. The reindeer sprang up and immediately began charging. Franky however, was ready and grabbed the deer by the horns. "Hey Chopper bro, you need to calm down."

"Blackbeard's right there!" Chopper screamed. The statement itself and Chopper's sudden burst of power caused Franky to lose any traction he had as he was flung to the side. Chopper began to barrel past everyone on the ship toward the stern, he galloped past Luffy and Ace further back.

Luffy taking the opportunity wriggled his way out of his elder brother's grasp and sprang after Chopper. "Damnit Luffy, get back here!" Ace admonished. However, his frustration turned to panic as he realized where his little brother was heading. Right over the edge of the boat along with Chopper. "Luffy wait he screamed, but it was as the boy didn't hear him.

Both Chopper and Luffy went over the edge, though the rest of the crew had gotten to the stern no one could react quick enough to grab either of them. However, before Sanji could jump in to save them, Zoro stopped him. Sanji looked at the swordsman in shock. "There was no splash," he explained.

Sanji blinked in surprise while he, Zoro, and the rest of the crew peered over the edge of the boat. There was absolutely nothing there and a dense fog had begun to roll in.


	8. Apologies

**Apologies, I have accidentally posted a chapter for a different story here. But take heart dear readers for I am currently working on the next chapter of this story (I'm about 1500 words in) and will be updating it sometime within the next couple of weeks. The earliest it will be is probably next Wednesday (the 6** **th** **) and the latest would be Thursday the 14** **th** **.**

 **This will be replaced with the new chapter when it comes out.**


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